The Lake Of Adventure
by CooperGirlHH
Summary: ADVENTURE SERIES... Bill cursed silently. A hostage situation! Really - one could never go out anywhere with these four and not fall into some kind of adventure! Multi-chapter adventure fic - reviews are always welcome :)
1. Reunited At Last

**The Lake Of Adventure**

 **Summary:** Bill cursed silently. A hostage situation! Really, one could never go out anywhere with these four together and not fall into some kind of adventure ...

 **A/N:** Seems I've been feeling adventurous again ... :D This is a prequel to my other Adventure-Series-Stories. It's also (until now) the only multi-chapter actual adventure story I've written for this fandom.

 ** _Awilliamsbbc.98_** is in the process of beta-ing this for me. Many thanks to her for doing a great job!

 **Disclaimer:** Check my profile for the usual disclaimer!

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Chapter 1: Reunited At Last

Jack wiped his sweaty palms on the rough fabric of his shorts. The nearer the train drew to his destination, the more nervous he felt. It even outweighed his joy at coming home. Of course he was looking forward to it as well – but seeing his family again was one thing; having to face Aunt Allie's wrath was quite another!

'She's going to wring my neck,' he thought to himself, looking out of the window and absentmindedly scratching Kiki's poll. The parrot, perched on his shoulder, seemed to sense his tension. She hadn't made a noise in a long while, but quietly nibbled on his ear as if to encourage him.

The train gave a loud whistle and drew into the station and even before it came to stop completely Jack spotted Philip and Bill waiting on the platform. Through the window Jack could see them turn their heads this way and that, looking out for him, as he sped past them inside the carriage.

It took another minute until the doors to the carriages opened, and Jack heaved out his trunk onto the platform. By now Bill and Philip had seen him and were approaching fast. Philip reached his friend first and greeted him with a heavy nudge in the side before they both shook hands enthusiastically. A moment later Bill arrived as well, panting a little.

'Jack! Thank goodness!' he exclaimed. In his excitement he all but pushed Philip out of the way as he caught hold of Jack's arm. 'You're back at last. Allie will be relieved.'

'She'll have my head,' said Jack sheepishly and made everyone else grin.

'You bet she will,' said Philip, sounding a little too cheerful for his friend's liking. 'You had better be prepared. Anyway, it's good to see you! And Kiki, of course. Tomorrow the girls will arrive, and then we'll all be reunited!'

Jack was surprised. 'Tomorrow?' he asked. 'Haven't the hols already started? Why are you here?'

Philip grinned, feeling rather pleased with himself as he replied, 'It's not holidays for me anymore, remember? It's been our last year of school, and it finished a little earlier because of the exams. Surely you haven't forgotten that you dropped out just before the finish?'

'Aunt Allie will be sure to remind me,' said Jack darkly but cheered up a moment later, clapping his friend on the shoulder. 'Never mind that now just now. How did the exams go?'

'Phew, don't remind me,' said Philip, who had had the most dreadful school term. It would have been bad enough having to study twice as much as usual to get through the exams at the very end. But he had had do all it without the company of his best friend.

Three months before the end of their school term, a well-known British naturalist had contacted Jack. Mr. Painshaw had been so impressed by some of the bird photographs Jack had sent in at the magazine NATURE'S GREATEST that he had invited him on a trip to New Zealand to do a report on the county's bird population. Jack had accepted and had taken off without telling anyone but Philip until he was out of the country. Of course, that had meant he couldn't finish his last year of school together with Philip.

And as if Jack's absence hadn't been bothersome enough, Philip had also been chosen to take part in the yearly relay race. Every year their school had their graduation year choose a team of ten boys to compete with two other boy's schools in a five-mile-relay, which was something that Philip could have gladly done without; but the PE teacher was Mr Mills, who also taught biology and was Philip's favourite teacher – and that had put him into quite a dilemma!

Jack grinned at him. 'I bet the exams went well.'

'You know me,' said Philip. 'Did well at sciences, but nearly blew it all by messing up at literature.' He shrugged. 'Not my fault I can't make head or tail of Shakespeare.'

Jack chuckled for he understood very well what his friend meant. 'What about the race then?'

Bill spoke up before Philip could reply. 'Never mind right now,' he said, urging them all to get going. 'Allie will want to see you, Jack, we had better head home now.'

On the way home Philip told the story of the relay race. 'We lost of course – as every year. Not thanks to me, though. I trained quite hard, especially after you were gone. I suppose we might have even stood a chance to win but that idiot Davies stumbled and fell, right on the finishing spurt.'

'Poor old Mr Mills,' said Jack, who had liked their biology teacher a lot himself. 'He had such high hopes this time.'

'Do let's stop talking about school,' said Philip. 'I've a few weeks of freedom ahead of me before university starts, I need a nice little adventure before getting back to studying. The most excitement I've had lately was reading your letter from New Zealand. My word, you must've had the time of your life!'

Jack had to agree. An adventure indeed it had been – but one without villains or treasures or crime. Just him and Kiki and Mr Painshaw. And there had been so many, _many_ birds at the places they had gone to – in short: it had been an adventure just the way Jack had liked it.

'We're here,' announced Bill, pulling the car into the driveway. He turned off the engine and got out to help Jack with his heavy trunk. Kiki fluttered above their heads, babbling excitedly at being home. 'Blow your nose! Wipe your feet! Ding dong bell – Polly's in the well! Blow your feet, wipe your nose. A- _choo_!" At her perfect imitation of a sneeze everyone laughed. Delighted at the attention she received, Kiki raised her crest and gave a few more sneezes.

But the fun was interrupted rather abruptly; the front door opened and out came Mrs Cunningham. She had her arms crossed over her chest and her mouth was in a tight thin line. 'Oh good, you're here,' she said without so much as looking at Jack. 'I need the car, Bill, to stock up on food. I'll have six hungry people to feed for the next few weeks.'

'Hallo Aunt Allie,' said Jack, feeling most uncomfortable.

She had been about to stride straight past him but at his words she stopped, looking up into his eyes. 'Hallo Jack,' she said in a frosty tone that wasn't like her at all. 'so you've returned then. Good. I left a list of things for you to do, it's on the kitchen counter. You had best start by calling your uncle. He phoned me the other day, asking to speak to you because the school had informed him that you had departed in midterm. He wanted to know what he was paying your school fees for, if you're not attending classes. I told him you would call him back.'

'Aunt Allie, I –'

But she wasn't done. 'Oh, and if you're wondering where the stuff is that you left behind at school, such as your uniforms and all – Philip's brought it all back. I put the uniforms in your cupboard, in case you wanted to go back next year and give it another try to finish your last year of school.' She looked him over carefully and Jack all but squirmed under steely gaze. 'Though I suppose those uniforms won't fit you no more, anyway. How much taller are you going to get?'

She didn't wait for his reply but took the car keys from Bill and drove off.

At Jack's dumbfounded expression Philip couldn't help having to chuckle. He had expected his mother to be snappy at Jack for a while. But it seemed worse than he had thought it would be, and he soon began to feel sorry for his friend.

Bill on the other hand was torn between both sides. He had seen his wife lie awake at night and cry with worry and anger more than once. Jack might not actually be her own son but she had fostered him since he was fourteen and had come to love him like a son of her own. Taking off the way he had, Jack had given poor Allie a few sleepless nights.

Philip had received a fine dressing-down as well, after Allie had found out he had known about Jack's plans and had kept them from her. Bill had been witness to that discussion, and afterwards, he wondered what his wife might have in store for Jack. But it would probably take a while before it would come out full force. Bill, too, would have to have words with him himself at some point.

After unloading the car, they sat down for tea; they ate biscuits and sandwiches with it and time passed by quickly. When Mrs Cunningham finally returned Jack offered her to help her carry in her shoppings. She was still snappy and when he tried to talk to her she merely said, 'not now, Jack. – Have you looked at the list I left for you?'

Jack had looked at it but had decided to put off doing the things she wanted him to do – at least for another day or two. He wished she would just listen to him for a moment, but he didn't dare to pressure her, for she was so edgy already. The tension was palpable and everyone was very glad when Mrs Cunningham retired early that night.

Bill, Philip and Jack played a few rounds of cards together, before they went to bed as well. Philip fell asleep the moment his head touched the pillow but Jack lay awake for a long time. His sense of timing was completely messed up from traveling so far and he lay on his back, hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling. Above him, Kiki sat on her perch, dozing with her head under her wing.

Morning came at last. Jack hadn't noticed he had fallen asleep after all until he woke with a start, wondering what had happened. Then a pillow hit him square across the head. Kiki screeched and fell into a cackle of laughter. She sat on Philip's shoulder bobbing her head up and down.

Philip stood laughing at Jack's bed still holding the pillow he had used to wake up his friend. 'I say, Freckles!' he exclaimed cheerily. 'It's ten o'clock already! How can you sleep that long?'

'Ten o'clock? Golly!' Jack sat up straight and ran a hand over his still tired eyes. 'When will the girls arrive?'

'Not until until twelve,' replied Philip and tossed the pillow onto his own bed. He was dressed already, wearing shorts and a comfortable shirt. He wouldn't miss wearing his school uniform!

'Then I've got some time to talk to Aunt Allie before that,' said Jack and jumped out of bed and dressed quickly. He combed a hand through his messy red hair and made to get downstairs in a rush.

But he found only Bill, working his way through an enormous amount of files which were spread all over the table in the sitting room. He was wearing a pair of reading glasses and Jack thought they made him look old. When he looked up, Bill took of the glasses.

'Jack! Awake at last?' he asked, sounding amused, and moped away the sweat from the bald top of his head. It was a hot summer day and the temperature in sitting room was far above the comfortable level.

'Where's Aunt Allie?' asked Jack.

'Gone into town to see an old friend of hers who fell ill and needed a hand,' said Bill. 'She asked me to pick up the girls at the train station. Do you boys want to come, too?'

Disappointed at not getting a chance to talk to Aunt Allie Jack nodded. Then he inquired, 'is there any breakfast left, Bill? I'm starving.'

'There's a surprise,' said Bill with a broad grin. 'I wonder, how come you've survived that trip of yours. Spending weeks and weeks in the middle of nowhere, in New Zealand – you must have been on the brink of starvation!'

Jack grinned back. 'You bet,' he said and went to find some food. Indeed Aunt Allie had left a plate with sandwiches and a boiled egg for him. Dear Aunt Allie – she always thought of him, even if she was angry.

At around ten to twelve Jack, Philip and Bill sat in the car to meet the girls. Their train unfortunately arrived five minutes late. When it drew into the station Kiki greeted it with her famous imitation of a train in a tunnel.

Philip saw the girls first; they were waving at them from a window. Not much later the two of them were out of the train and hurrying towards their brothers and Bill.

Lucy-Ann was absolutely thrilled to see Jack. She had got quite a shock when he had left for New Zealand without even telling her beforehand. But Lucy-Ann never held any grudges. She beamed all over her freckled face and threw her arms around her brother and gave a low screech when he lifted her off her feet for a few seconds to swing her around. When he set her down again she took a step backwards and looked him over.

'Good gracious,' she exclaimed. 'Jack, you're taller than Bill now. I say – you really are!'

Jack grinned. He felt quite pleased at her words. As they walked through the small station building Dinah also nodded approvingly. 'And taller than Philip,' she added, much to her brother's dismay. 'Broader, too. Whenever did that happen?'

'Shut up, Dinah – or just use your eyes!' said Philip as he drew himself up to his full height.

Lucy-Ann giggled, and Jack said, 'don't worry, Tufty, counting in your hair sticking up in the front you're level height with me.'

Subconsciously Philip lifted a hand to run it through his dark hair, that – just like Dinah's – always insisted on sticking up in front. He opened his mouth to retort but at that moment something unexpected happened.

There was a loud noise.

 _BANG_!

Everyone stopped in shock – it had sounded just like a gunshot!

Then a group of men came running into the building from the street. One was indeed holding a revolver and there was a rucksack on his back. Their faces were all hidden by masks – or rather they wore socks pulled over their heads, with cut-in holes for their eyes and noses.

The people inside the station building began screaming and running about in panic. Bill reacted automatically. 'Everybody down on the ground and don't move,' he shouted and he, Jack, Philip, Dinah and Lucy-Ann all lay down on their bellies. Many others followed their example.

While keeping his head low Bill got himself an overview of the situation: there were five men with masks; two positioned themselves on either entrance of the building the others gathered around the people inside and chased them closer together.

Bill cursed silently. A hostage situation!

Really, one could never go out anywhere with these four together and not fall into some kind of adventure!


	2. Held Hostage

Chapter 2: Held Hostage

The police had been quick to position men outside the station building at both entrances but they couldn't do anything much without endangering the hostages. There were at least fifteen people inside the building beside the kidnappers. Next to himself, Jack, Philip, Dinah and Lucy-Ann Bill counted an elderly couple, a family with two very young children, who were crying by now, two young men looking only slightly older than Jack and Philip, and finally two middle-aged chaps in business suits.

The air inside the building was awfully hot and drops of perspiration kept running into Bill's eyes, making them burn. He couldn't wipe them away, though, for every time he moved just the slightest bit, one of the men turned on him, gun in hand. Whatever was he to do? He wasn't armed himself, and even if so, he couldn't have interfered with the situation. Too many lives were at stake.

He suspected that their kidnappers were actually robbers. The building next to the station was a bank. Maybe the men had been on a raid, but their original flight plans had failed. Now, they would only get away if they took one or more of their hostages with them. And they would need to negotiate with the police to get some sort of transportation.

Thinking it through Bill quickly came to the conclusion that it would be best if he could convince them to take _him_ along. Even if he had only little experience with hostage situations he was best equipped to handle it – and he certainly didn't want the girls in danger – or the boys, for that matter. Or anyone else among the frightened hostages.

He called out to the fellow standing closest to him. 'You there!'

'What?' growled the man and came closer. He was careful to stay out of Bill's reach, though.

'You don't need us all,' said Bill. 'Let everyone else go and keep me with you.'

'Bill!' exclaimed Lucy-Ann, who couldn't believe her ears. 'Bill, why would you say such a thing?'

'Yes, _Bill_ ,' said the kidnapper mockingly. He was a big, hulking chap, and Bill had noticed that he spoke with a foreign accent. What was it? German, maybe? He couldn't tell for sure. 'Why would you say zat?' the fellow scoffed at Bill in his strange accent. 'Especially when we have got a perfectly fine hostage here!' He came close to Lucy-Ann, and ran a hand over her cheek.

'Don't you _dare_ touch her,' said Philip hotly. He had felt his temper rise ever since the men taken them hostage and over the past minutes he had had a hard time holding his tongue and keeping himself from saying or doing something foolhardy. But as that awful man dared to touch Lucy-Ann he couldn't help it – the words just tumbled out of him. They only served to earn him a hearty kick in the middle, though, and he couldn't stop a low hiss that came out at feeling the pain of it. Watching the scene, Lucy-Ann began to sob softly.

Kiki had retreated to a windowsill high up above their heads, where she sat and kept being very quiet. Not a peep had come from her since the arrival of the men. Jack felt glad that they didn't seem to see her as any kind of threat. They more or less ignored her.

Bill tried once more to influence the kidnappers. 'I tell you, get the police to fetch you a car and off you go. Take me along and you'll be quite safe.'

The man who had kicked Philip, turned his attention back to Bill and sneered, 'shut up already, you!'

Another fellow came and added, 'we shall ask for some transportation. And we shall be going off – but for my part I'd much rather have a different hostage with me. Someone younger than you. Maybe her,' he pointed at Lucy-Ann, 'or her,' now at Dinah, 'or one of them,' his finger stretched out towards the boys.

Bill gave it up for now. He knew he still had some time. It would be a while until the police got to arrange anything.

And indeed; an hour passed without anything happening. And then another one. The hostages sat on the stony ground of the building which was comfortably cool, while the air seemed to be boiling. Dinah found that she had trouble breathing in the heat. She wiped her sweaty forehead with her upper arm, making sure that her movement was too subtle for the kidnappers to react on it, and glanced around.

Lucy-Ann sat very near Bill. She had drawn her knees up and rested her chin on top of them. Her hands were clenched tightly together, turning her knuckles white and holding her legs close to her body. Bill and the boys were sitting cross-legged with their hands in their laps. On Jack's left shoulder perched Kiki, who had given up her superior position by the window. She still didn't give so much as a squawk, though. Next to Jack Bill kept mopping his head with a crumpled handkerchief; it was still glistening with perspiration, and he had large wet stains under his armpits as well, thanks to the nearly unbearable heat. To his right Philip was sitting with his back against the wall, his eyes half closed. He looked calm, almost sleepy like this, but Dinah knew well that he was just as tense as she.

They couldn't see or hear what was going on between the kidnappers and the police, but they must be in touch. Three of the men stood by the door now, discussing with someone outside in low, hushed voices. Suddenly the fellow with the foreign accent turned and came quickly to the hostages. He grabbed Dinah roughly by the arm and pulled her up and along with him. His gun was directed at her head, and Dinah felt very scared. She had to walk to the door with the man and show herself to the policemen outside.

'See?' shouted the kidnapper. 'I'm going to pull ze trigger if you don't hurry up and get us what we want!'

Looking at the scene outside Dinah wondered a little at the number of policemen present. Their town actually had only a small station. The officers must have called for help in the next bigger city.

After having been noticed by the police she hoped that the kidnapper would let her go back to the others, but the men kept her standing close. The others were beginning to feel more and more anxious as well. At seeing his sister with a gun held against her head, Philip had had to bite his tongue once more. He would have liked to throw himself at the man, but he knew he couldn't. It would have endangered them both. So instead he had had to watch quietly as Dinah was led away.

'The weapon is on safety,' Bill had whispered to calm him a little, hoping himself that it meant that the fellow didn't really want to shoot. But why did they keep Dinah standing with them for so long? Why wouldn't he just let her get back to the rest of them?

They weren't to know. Poor Dinah had to stand by the door with the men for another hour, before – finally – things started to happen.

It started with a noise, getting louder and louder. Dinah locked up in astonishment. A helicopter was landing on the street just in front of the station!

'It's here!' shouted one of the men. 'Come on! Get going! Get going!'

Before Bill had a chance to understand what was happening he was taken by one arm and hauled to his feet. So were Philip, Lucy-Ann and Jack! With a screech Kiki fluttered off Jack's shoulder and disappeared somewhere behind him. He couldn't turn his head to see where she had gone to; as soon as he tried the fellow behind him pressed his gun even more deeply into Jack's back. He could feel the steely coolness between his shoulder blades through the thin fabric of his shirt and he hoped that the weapon was on safety as well. If not, he knew that it would be over for him if the man holding him got nervous and pulled the trigger.

The were ushered towards the door and out into the blinding sunlight. Jack was amazed at seeing that there was a helicopter outside, waiting to be boarded. Police men stood around it, keeping away curious watchers. Taking in the scene Jack became a little slower but a rough shove from the fellow behind him made him stumble and he hurried to keep up with the others. Bill was pushed forward equally roughly just behind Jack, guarded by the biggest and strongest of the man.

'Look,' said Lucy-Ann suddenly, her voice quivering. 'Look! Dinah's inside the helicopter!'

'You'll all be in a minute,' hissed the man behind her.

Secretly, Jack wondered why they had chosen to take Bill as well as the rest of them. Even if they couldn't know of course that Bill was a member of the police force himself, he was still the biggest and burliest of all hostages. Jack had no doubt that he might even have been able to overwhelm the man guarding him, if it hadn't been for the gun. Meanwhile Jack had to admit to himself that if it came down to it, probably neither he nor Philip were a match for their kidnappers. The fellows were big and heavyset, only one of them looked small enough to be tackled. With Bill, however, they might stand a chance after all!

But then, just before Bill could climb into the helicopter, the man who had held him suddenly gave him an unexpectedly hard shove. Hard enough to make him reel backwards and stumble. He fell, but was back on his feet in a blink of an eye. The nasty sound of a gun being fired ripped through the silence of before and Bill fell down once more, bleeding profusely from his right shoulder. The policemen were eager to shoot as well but they couldn't – not without risking the lives of the four hostages who were now inside the helicopter.

The last of the kidnappers climbed on board, and then the helicopter came to life. It took off, rising higher and higher. Lucy-Ann felt hot tears burn in her eyes, blurring her vision and finally wetting her cheeks while she kept looking down on Bill, who was lying far below and getting smaller and smaller. Thank goodness he was receiving medical attention already!

Soon the station and Bill and everything else was out of sight. Philip could tell by the position of the sun that they were headed north.

It was a big helicopter but Philip suspected that they were still more people inside it than it was made for. It was a tight fit and the air was hot and stuffy. Lucy-Ann was pressed against the window on one side, Jack on the other. Philip himself was squashed up between his friend and his own sister, who had put an arm around Lucy-Ann to comfort her.

They flew for a few hours heading north all the time and Philip began to wonder if not the would run out of gas very soon. Carefully, he craned his neck to have a look at the controls in the front but he couldn't make out which was the display showing the status of their gas supply.

The men didn't talk much. Three of them seemed to be asleep. The small one was flying the helicopter and the fellow with the foreign accent seemed to be helping with directions.

'Over zere,' he said suddenly. 'We can land zere by ze lake and let zem out.'

The helicopter flew lower and lower and finally it landed on a clearing in the middle of a thick forest. All of the men were awake by now and the one who had shot at Bill opened the door to the helicopter and roared at the hostages, 'out you get. We don't need you anymore.'

Shaking like a leaf Lucy-Ann was the first to climb out, followed by Philip. When Dinah made to get out the man gripped her shoulder and said, 'no, not you. You will stay with us.'

'You let her go!' said Philip, his temper flaring up once more. But Jack grabbed him firmly by his arm and held on tightly, pulling him away from the helicopter.

'Are you quite mad?' he shouted. It wasn't before they had removed themselves a few yards from the helicopter that Jack finally let go of Philip's arm. 'They are armed – you can't help Dinah if you're shot!' He shook his head. 'I'm sure they won't hurt her and they will soon let her go – once they've reached their final destination.'

'Oh, I do hope they won't hurt her,' sobbed Lucy-Ann.

'Trust me – they won't,' said Jack. He urged the other two a little further away from the helicopter, whose doors had been closed again. A moment later it was powered up again and rose into the air with Dinah still held hostage inside. Jack, Philip and Lucy-Ann had to duck down low against the wind it produced as it flew off.

When the helicopter was out of sight Jack rose up to gather a survey of their surroundings. But he didn't get to see very much before a sudden unexpected force knocked him off his feet. Lucy-Ann made a short noise in shock when she saw Philip tackle Jack and throw him to the ground. _Gracious_! She couldn't ever remember seeing their friend so angry – and most certainly never at Jack!

They rolled over a couple of times, flinging fists at each other, but then Jack managed to get the upper hand; he caught hold of his friends' arms and with all his strength he pushed them down until he could capture them underneath his knees – efficiently preventing Philip from lashing out at him again.

'Stoppit!' Jack growled in such an angry, deep voice that it made Lucy-Ann wince. 'Are you out of your mind, Tufty?'

Ashamed of himself, Philip finally stopped struggling. His anger had faded somewhat by now and he was well and truly stuck underneath Jack, sitting astride on his middle, anyway. Realising that the struggle was over Jack got to his feet and looked down on Philip, who sat up on the mossy ground. He was a mess; hair sticking up wildly, a small cut on his lip. His formerly white shirt was now dirty and had brown and greenish stains.

'You look like one of the school bullies after a fight in the woods behind the football field,' said Jack with a forgiving grin and held out a hand to Philip – and just as he took it, a voice made them all freeze and listen.

'Naughty boy, naughty boy! _Pheee_! Call the police! What a pity, what a pity!'


	3. The Light In The Night

Chapter 3: The Light In The Night

'Kiki!' exclaimed Jack, letting go of Philip's hand and turning around, looking for his beloved parrot. 'However did you get here?'

They watched in amazement as Kiki flew off a nearby tree and came to sit on Jack's shoulder. 'Naughty boy, naughty boy. Send for the doctor,' she said solemnly and began nibbling at Jack's ear affectionately. In return he scratched her neck gently and at once she raised her crest in delight.

'She must have sat on the helicopter's skids until it landed here,' said Lucy-Ann. She walked over and began petting the parrot as well.

Kiki enjoyed the attention she was getting and gave another exclamation of, 'PHEEE! The police! _Phee! Phee! Phee!_ '

'We can't call the police, Kiki,' said Philip gloomily from where he was still sitting on the ground. 'We're right in the middle of nowhere. There is no police station nearby. I can't even see a house or anything.'

He got to his feet and dusted off his legs and backside. Then he did the just same as Jack had already attempted to do before: he surveyed the area where their kidnappers had dropped them off. The middle of nowhere was an awfully accurate description. They were on a clearing in a forest that grew next to a large lake. It spread out about a mile away from them, just down a soft slope; the water looked calm and very green – probably a reflection of the surrounding vegetation. Beyond the lake there were soft hills, richly overgrown by trees and bushes – but there was no sign of civilisation at all!

After taking in their surroundings Philip began to wonder what to do now. For one thing, they needed shelter for the night. It was getting late, and it was considerably cooler now than it had been before they had got onto the helicopter.

'Let's go deeper into the woods and see if we can find a good place to spend the night,' he suggested. 'It's not going to make any sense to try and find a village or something before darkness.' He turned around himself a couple of times, taking in the untouched nature environment and continued, 'for instance, If this is a place where hikers come to, there might be a hut to offer them shelter somewhere in the forest.'

'How about food and something to drink?' asked Lucy-Ann. On board the helicopter they had been given a few sips of water to share between them, but no food. Now they didn't even have anything to drink.

'Let's try if we can find a place where we can sleep, then we'll worry about food and water,' said Jack. 'Maybe we can drink water from the lake – although it might be better if we filter it first or something.'

As they made their way through the woods the sun was already sinking low behind the hills on the other side of the lake and it quickly got darker. They would soon need to camp for the night. After all the excitement of that day they were feeling very exhausted too.

Suddenly Philip exclaimed, 'look! Over there! There _is_ a hut. Let's see if there's any food or water stocked inside of it. It's summer, on-season for hiking, isn't it?'

They sped up but when they entered the small hut they were disappointed. There was little inside that could be of use to them. And certainly no one had left any food or water here.

'What a pity, what a pity,' squawked Kiki, making all three grin half-heartedly. It was funny when Kiki made such fitting remarks. But they were too hungry and too tired out to really enjoy her comments.

'Looks as though this lake is really a lonely place to be,' said Jack. 'We're probably miles and miles away from the next village.'

'Blow,' said Philip grumpily. 'Whatever are we going to do? It's getting cold, and I'm starving!'

'So am I,' said Lucy-Ann.

The only useful thing they found inside the hut were a few tinny mugs. At least those would do to fetch water from the lake.

'I'll go,' volunteered Philip after Lucy-Ann had raised the question. 'Give me the mugs, I think I can carry four by the handles if they are filled.'

'Do be careful,' said Lucy-Ann. 'And hurry, soon it'll be too dark to see a thing!'

Philip gave her a confident grin and set out. He knew he had to hurry if he wanted to be able to find the way back safely. Swiftly he walked through the woods, squeezing himself past thickly growing bushes every now and then, when there was no way to go around. It was very cool now and he was freezing in his thin, short-sleeved shirt. His stomach was rumbling too, and he knew his friends were feeling just as bad as he was.

But what about Dinah? Would she at least be fed? And given a warm place to sleep? Would the men hurt her? Feeling the anger at their kidnappers rise once more, Philip kicked at a pebble, making it tumble into the undergrowth. And it made the boughs and leaves move and wobble. Philip stopped, frowning. How could such a small pebble cause such movement in the undergrowth?

There! The small bush had just wobbled again! Something must be in it. Something small. Whatever could it be? Carefully, Philip drew nearer and knelt down. He pushed aside a few boughs and revealed a small furry body. It was a young rabbit. Was it hurt? Talking to the small animal in a soothing voice, Philip reached out a careful hand and gave it a soft nudge. Then he saw that its leg was caught up in a forking between two small boughs. The rabbit couldn't wriggle it free and the boughs must still be too thick for the tiny creature to nibble through.

'Poor thing,' whispered Philip. Gently, he bent the boughs apart and helped the rabbit free its leg. 'There you go, now. Hope that leg isn't broken or anything.'

It didn't seem to be and the rabbit happily hobbled away from the place where it had been captured. Philip grinned, feeling pleased. 'That's right, off you go,' he encouraged the small creature.

But the rabbit had no intention of going too far off – instead it hobbled along with Philip, following stubbornly on his heels and never venturing further than a few yards away from him. He almost stumbled over it a couple of times as he continued his way to the lake.

'Golly!' he exclaimed one time, after he had nearly fallen over his new friend. 'You _are_ clingy, aren't you?' He picked the rabbit up and set it on his shoulder. 'If you want to stay, stay there – at least then I don't have to constantly be afraid of tripping over you!'

Finally, he reached the lake, filled the mugs and was about to return, when his eyes caught sight if a light shining on the other side of the lake, somewhere on top of the hills. His mind started to race. There must be a house! Maybe they hadn't seen it before because it was hidden between trees and bushes. But in the near darkness of the night, the light shining out was clearly visible! Feeling excited, Philip hurried back to the hut where he had left Jack and Lucy-Ann behind.

'Whatever took you so long, Tufty?' asked Jack after Philip had entered. 'We can't be _that_ far away from the lake.'

Lucy-Ann clutched her brother's arm, pointing at the small creature still sitting on Philip's shoulder. 'Look, Jack! A rabbit! Philip found himself a new friend! Isn't he sweet?'

'I'm calling him Hopper,' said Philip with a grin. He lifted Hopper off his shoulder and handed him over to Lucy-Ann. Hopper quivered at first, but he soon adapted to Lucy-Ann who was petting him gently.

'Blow your nose!' said Kiki sternly to Hopper. As usual she wasn't thrilled at having to compete over everyone's attention with one of Philip's pets. 'Open your book on page six,' she added for good measure. It frightened the rabbit and Jack tapped Kiki's beak to make her shut up. Sulking a little, Kiki flew out of the hut and perched on its roof.

Meanwhile Philip put down the mugs he had filled with water. He pulled off his shirt – he was feeling warmed up from his hurried return anyway – and stretched a clean bit of its fabric over one empty mug before he carefully poured some of the water into it. It was the best they could do for now. After he had filtered all the water he handed one of the mugs to each of his friends. Then he told them about the light he had seen on the other side of the lake.

'We must find out where it came from first thing tomorrow morning,' Jack said excitedly after he had heard about it. 'My word, I do hope it's a house with someone living in it. Someone who might be able to supply us with food. I'm so hungry!'

So were the others. Neither of them got much rest that night. The made themselves as comfortable as they could on the two narrow bunks in the hut, with Jack and Lucy-Ann sharing one and Philip sharing the other one with Hopper, the rabbit. Trying to get to sleep, they all thought of Dinah and puzzled over the question where the men might have taken her.

Jack was sure that they couldn't have gone too far, for the helicopter wouldn't have had much more gas. When he said so to the others, Philip had to agree but it didn't stop him from worrying. Dinah might be a prickly, often annoying girl, but she was still his sister after all, and if something really bad happened to her, he certainly wouldn't be able to forgive himself for letting the men take her!

When morning finally came Lucy-Ann was the first to wake up, shivering all over. Like the boys she was only wearing shorts and a thin shirt, and even sharing the bunk with Jack hadn't helped much to keep her body heat. Hunger was bothering her as well and she slipped off the bunk wondering if she should go for a little walk in the forest and look for something edible, such as wild berries. Thinking that it might help against the freezing if she got move around for a bit she quietly ventured off.

Jack didn't wake up and Philip, too, was still snoring faintly on the other bunk. Lucy-Ann slipped out of the hut and into the misty morning air. It was going to be another fine day, she realised. But for now there was fog all over the place, keeping the sun from warming up the woods. It must still be very early.

She walked down to the lake, wondering if she might make out the place the light had come from. But the fog was too dense and she soon returned to the hut. By the time she got there Jack and Philip were awake, too. They were both looking a little pale after all the stress of the past twenty-hours hours and Lucy-Ann thought that she was probably not looking any better.

Kiki was up, too. She raised her crest when Lucy-Ann came into the hut and ordered, 'shut the door. Wipe your feet. And don't sniff! Where's your handkerchief? How many times do I have to tell you to shut the door, idiot?'

Lucy-Ann laughed a her. 'I can't shut the door, Kiki – there is no door to be shut! And I didn't sniff, either – but I might be sniffing very soon, if I don't warm up.'

'You're right, Lucy-Ann,' said Jack. 'Another night outside in this attire should catch us all a nasty chill. Let's go and see if might find the house old Tufty saw last night.'

'I saw a _light_ ,' said Philip. 'I _hope_ it was coming from a house. But I couldn't say for sure.'

'Well, we'll never find out if we stay here, waiting, are we?' said Jack, 'my word, I'm still freezing – isn't it time the sun chased away this mist?'

They walked down to the lake and strode along its embankment. As the morning proceeded the mist cleared away and after a few hours, when they had nearly reached the other side and were ready to start up the hills, they were sweating instead of freezing. The sun had come out by now and Philip suggested they take a short bath in the lake before starting to ascend.

'Good idea,' said Jack, pulling off his shirt and shorts.

Lucy-Ann didn't want to swim, but she stripped off her shoes to dip her feet into the refreshing water as well. Sitting on a big stone she watched the boys as they waded further in. The bottom was littered with stones and rocks of all sizes and was quite slippery. Jack even fell once. Trying to regain his balance he bumped into a big, sharp-edge rock and scraped up his shin painfully.

'What a pity, what a pity,' said Kiki as he gave a sound of pain and annoyance. She had been watching them curiously, sitting on Lucy-Ann's shoulder. 'Pop goes the weasel.'

Philip and Lucy-Ann laughed while Jack just rubbed his shin under the water and mumbled something about Kiki going pop under his breath.

Their short dip into the lake cheered both boys up immensely and they almost forgot about their empty stomachs. The blissful moment of oblivion didn't last long, though – after all, it had been over twenty-four hours since they all had last eaten!

As soon as the boys had dried themselves somewhat the three started to ascend the hills. Kiki fluttered about their heads, taking short breaks from flying where she would sit on Jack's shoulder and babble nonsense into his ear. Hopper was still following them, too, every now and then stopping for a bit of fresh grass or a mouthful of dandelion.

Philip tried to remember in which direction he had seen the light the evening before, but it was impossible to to say now. After two hours of walking steadily uphill he began feeling anxious. Hopefully they would find a bit civilisation before nightfall. He really didn't want to spend another night like the last one!

But then Lucy-Ann cried out suddenly, 'look! Over there – a house! There _is_ a house after all, see? There between the trees – we've found the source of your light, Philip!'


	4. At The Springstons' House

**A/N:** I know this isn't a big fandom, but I'm having a lot of fun writing this. I so love those four adventurers :) and Kiki of course! And everyone else in this series!

And thank you, Em, for supporting this with your reviews! It's great to know that someone else is having some fun, too :)

X

Chapter 4: At The Springstons' House

Lucy-Ann was right; there was a house, just a little bit further uphill. It was hidden between bushes and trees, one could scarcely see it from where they stood now – let alone from the other side of the lake. Realising that they had found the place they had been looking for after all gave them all them the strength and the spirit to hurry up.

After another few minutes they had nearly reached the house. It was a cosy looking cabin and an elderly woman was bustling about on a small veranda in front of it. She laughed at the three of them when she saw them approach and waved a bare chubby arm. 'Hallo there!' she called. 'Lovely day, isn't it? Do you like the view from up here?' Her arm stretched out to indicate the valley that lay behind them with its lake in the middle and the thick forest on the other side of it.

Jack glanced back over his shoulder and thought that, indeed, one had a spectacular view from up here. He turned to say to Philip, 'she must be thinking that we're just tourists. Hikers or something.'

'Well, we _are_ hikers, although not voluntarily – and very hungry ones too,' siad Philip with a grin. 'I do hope she has some food to spare. Otherwise it'll be the end of me.'

'Pop goes the Weasel!' said Kiki solemnly.

Lucy-Ann sped up at little, leaving the boys a few steps behind her. She walked up to the woman on the veranda and smiled very kindly, knowing from experience that very few people could resist that sort of smile. 'Hallo,' she said. 'What a beautiful place this is. Do you live here?'

'Indeed, my dear,' said the woman with a friendly laugh. 'I live here with my husband, Rory, and my daughter, Isabel. I'm Tilda Springston, by the way.'

'Nice to meet you, Tilda,' said Lucy-Ann. 'I'm Lucy-Ann Trent, and there's my brother, Jack, over there – and Philip, our friend. We got lost in the woods, I'm afraid. And we didn't bring along enough food and drink. Would you kindly help us out? We shall pay for your expenses.'

'Oh, you poor dears!' exclaimed the Tilda, looking horrified. 'I say, to be lost here with no supplies, how dreadful! You _must_ come in and have a bite to eat with me! I was wondering already what you were doing here, so far from the next village and with no equipment on you! Come on in, I'm well-stocked on food. We – that's me and my husband – don't get to go into town a lot, so when we go, I see to it that I bring enough food back to last us for weeks and weeks.' Again, she waved her pudgy arm at them and the three hurried to follow her into her house.

Moments later they sat around the table in a small, crowded kitchen. Through the open window they could enjoy the view on the lake and the forest on the other side – somewhere there must be the cabin they had slept in the night before. As mesmerizing as the landscape was, the food on the table was twice as interesting and Jack, Philip and Lucy-Ann pounced on it as if they hadn't been fed in a week. There was a loaf of fresh bread – which Tilda had baked herself, that very morning – and a wide variety of different dainties – ham, cheese, boiled eggs, tomatoes and much more. Kiki was gorging on tinned pineapple and Hopper had a carrot to nibble on.

It was a cosy atmosphere, and the food, despite being plain and simple, felt heavenly good in their empty stomachs. While he ate, Philip took in the inside of the cabin with unfazed curiosity. Its interior was simple and held no luxuries and it oddly reminded him of his old home, Craggy-Tops by the sea, where he and Dinah had spent their holidays so many times when they were younger.

So far they hadn't met either Rory or Isabel yet, but Tilda had already told them all about her family. 'Rory is park ranger, you see? It's a national park where we are, and we've been living here for twenty years. Our daughter, Isabel, grew up here. A little lonely, I'm afraid but she quite enjoyed it. Of course, now she doesn't live with us anymore. She is currently a university student. She wants to qualify as a veterinary and then come back to the park and work here as well.'

'Really?' Philip's eyes lit up. 'I want to become a vet as well. I'm going to start university in autumn.' He grinned at Tilda who gave him a very warm smile in return. Lucy-Ann thought – not for the first time – that he could be very charming when he wanted to. And with Tilda his charm worked very well indeed – she seemed to be quite fond of him already!

'I bet you and Isabel would get along very well,' she said approvingly.

'I suppose so,' Philip agreed with a happy nod. 'Shall we get to meet her, do you reckon?'

Tilda shrugged. 'She is joining Rory on his daily rounds through the park, to see if everything is alright. It's been a dry summer so far so there is always danger that a fire might break out. Some tourists are really careless about their cigarette ends or the bon fires they make – even although fires are actually forbidden at this time of year. Isabel loves going on rounds with Rory when she's here in the holidays. She doesn't have many friends her age. I shall be glad if you'll get to meet her.'

'Actually we can't stay so very long, Tilda,' said Jack, thinking of Dinah. He gave Philip a very indignant look. 'You see, we have lost one of our friends on our way and we really must find her.'

'Right,' said Philip. He felt very ashamed of himself for he had indeed forgotten about Dinah for a moment.

'You lost your friend?' asked Tilda. 'Oh, poor dears. I shall get Rory to take you out in his car to look for her! Where did you last see her?'

The three of them looked at each other. Should they tell Tilda the whole truth of what had happened? But then – why not? She seemed trustworthy enough, and maybe she or her husband could take them to the next village where they could talk to the police. Then they might be able to find out what had happened to Bill, as well. Jack decided it would be the best plan, but just as he had started to tell the story they heard the noise of a car outside.

'Hallo – there's Rory coming back, with Isabel,' said Tilda happily. 'Just wait a moment, Jack, will you? Then you'll only have to tell it once!'

Two men and a young woman around the age of twenty – or maybe slightly older than that – came into the room. The one who introduced himself as Rory was a short, wiry man with greying hair and an equally greying moustache. Isabel was taller than both her parents but as wiry as her father. She had long fair hair that was tucked into a thick bun at the back of her head, and she didn't very much look like either of her parents. Lucy-Ann silently wondered if she was adopted. The other man introduced himself as Sam, another park ranger. He was a tall and broad fellow – and rather slow, especially in terms of speaking.

Tilda introduced her three young guests to her family and then Jack began telling them all what had happened and how they had got here.

'My word, what a story!' exclaimed Rory after he had listened, and Tilda nodded excitedly.

'Poor dears,' she said again. 'And your sister Dinah is still in the hands of those kidnappers?' she asked Philip.

'Yes, unless they have freed her by now, I'm afraid she is,' said Philip.

'What an extraordinary tale,' said Isabel pensively. She hadn't uttered a word until now, and she was giving her parents' guests thoughtful looks from the corner of her eyes.

Philip thought that she was a little strange but he was sure she would be quite nice once one got to know her better. Secretly, he also had to admit to himself that he found her pretty, too. But he would have to be careful to not let his friends know that he thought that. They would enjoy taking the mickey out of him – especially Jack.

A sudden, rather uncharacteristically vivacious exclamation from Sam interrupted Philip's thoughts roughly. 'Bless my soul, how could I forget!'

'Sam! Whatever is the matter?' asked Tilda, shaking her head while refilling Jack's empty mug with more of her freshly made lemonade.

'The helicopter – I saw it. Yesterday, about an hour before nightfall. It looked as if it was about to land, just outside the parks boundaries.'

Philip, Jack and Lucy-Ann perked up at the unexpected information and Kiki gave a few screeches, equally excited. 'Bless my soul!' she said, bobbing her head up and down. 'Send for the doctor – bless my soul!'

'Whereabouts exactly did you see the helicopter?' asked Jack forgetting all about his freshly poured drink.

'A couple of miles west from here,' said Sam.

'Can you take us there?' asked Philip.

Sam nodded. 'I suppose so.'

'Gosh, what luck we came here!' exclaimed Jack, his eyes bright. 'So we can go and see if Dinah is wandering about somewhere in that area. Sam – you're a genius!'

But Tilda put an end to the excitement. 'Sam! Whatever are you thinking? You would take them to the place where they might encounter a pack of kidnappers with guns? Are you quite mad? They are children!'

' _Children_?' Philip repeated indignantly. He shook his head irritably. He wasn't a child – he was eighteen! So was Jack – going on nineteen actually. If anything, Lucy-Ann might pass for being a child, but maybe they could leave her here with this nice family, where she would be safe and sound. Tilda certainly wouldn't mind. She loved Lucy-Ann already.

He was about to suggest it when Isabel spoke up. 'Listen – I have a few errands to run in town. I can take the three of you with me and drop you off at the police station, so you can get help.' She winked at Philip and smiled.

It seemed like their best option. Although Jack would have preferred going after the men and finding Dinah as quickly as possible, he decided that having Isabel take them to the police station would be better than nothing. They would inform the officers on where Sam had seen the helicopter and then the search for Dinah and the villains who had taken her would begin.

They all agreed on Isabel's suggestion and after they had finished eating Isabel took her father's car keys and Jack, Philip and Lucy-Ann followed her outside. Lucy-Ann made herself comfortable in the back seat and so did Jack with Kiki perched on his knee. Meanwhile Philip chose to take the front seat next to Isabel.

The ride on the bumpy road was uncomfortable, as most of the way was potholed and curved, passing along a small stream that probably fed the lake next to Tilda's and Rory's home. Lucy-Ann watched the landscape in awe – it was such a beautiful but lonely place.

They came to a forking. Glancing out of the car window Philip saw a road sign pointing out the way to the next settlement to the right. They still had a few miles to go but would certainly make there before dinner time. He was about to tell Jack when Isabel hit the gas pedal and turned the car left.

'Isabel, we're headed in the wrong direction,' said Philip puzzled. He turned to looked at her and saw that she was grinning from ear to ear.

'We're not going to the police station,' she said. 'I wasn't going to tell my parents, but I know exactly where the helicopter landed. And that's where we're headed!'

'Golly!' exclaimed Jack from the backseat. 'Isabel, you're a genius!'

She gave him a cheeky smile through the rear-view mirror.

Lucy-Ann thought that Tilda's daughter was a little puzzling. She seemed very confident to her, more so than even Dinah was, and cheeky. She also seemed to be ignoring Lucy-Ann, while hugely enjoying the attention she was undeniably receiving from both of the boys. And they in turn didn't even seem to notice her coolness towards Lucy-Ann.

The ride took another ten minutes. Then Isabel stopped the car on a meadow which lay on the side of the small stream. It seemed like a perfect landing spot for a helicopter – but if it _had_ landed there, it had already been removed again. They could see no sign of it.

Isabel turned the engine off and all four of them got out of the car and took a good look around.

'Look,' exclaimed Jack suddenly, pointing at the ground. He was standing in the middle of the meadow, where the grass grew so high it came up almost up to his knees. 'The grass is flattened here; I can make out two clearly visible lines. That must have been the helicopter's skids. It has landed here, after all!'

'But where is it now?' said Philip, pensively. 'It isn't something small you could just hide in the next bush.'

'We might find it, if we search around for a bit,' suggested Isabel. 'Let's walk for a bit, shall we?' She waved at them to make them follow her towards where the meadow ended and another thick forest began. The four of them strode into the woods, attentively turning their eyes this way and that. Jack had tapped Kiki's beak several times to make sure she knew she mustn't make any noises.

Philip was feeling thrilled. They might be very close to finding Dinah, but they also might be very close to being found by the kidnappers again, if they weren't careful! Thankfully they had experience with this kind situation, giving him the confidence to think that they would not be caught.

Lucy-Ann was the last in the line as they trotted through the forest. She went on although she felt an increasing reluctance. Something felt wrong, and she was almost sure it had something to do with Isabel. But she couldn't put her finger on it.

Then they came to a clearing and Jack, too, was beginning to feel uncomfortable. Where was Isabel taking them? They had followed her as if it was the most natural thing to do, but even if she _had_ seen where the helicopter had come down, she had no way of knowing exactly which way to go from there, except –

He didn't get to end his thought because just when he realised that they had run right into a trap, they were surrounded by four tall men, and this time their faces were very visible.


	5. Trapped

**A/N:** I keep the chapters coming quickly at the moment ... :) love getting some comments just as quickly! Huge thanks, **Em**!

(I might have to slow down after the next chapter or so ... the story is completed already but the later chapters still need a lot of revising!)

Chapter 5: Trapped

'Isabel, how stupid can you be?' snarled one of the men. He was an ugly fellow with a big pug nose and dark bushy eyebrows which dominated his face. 'We disposed of them for a reason and now you're bringing them right back here? They hadn't even seen our faces, now they are all ready to recognise us!'

'Girl, have you lost your mind?' added another, shaking his head.

'Raise your hands,' said a third man, pulling his gun out and pointing it at poor Lucy-Ann. He had a thick neck and a well-trimmed, strangely twirled moustache. Further, he was in need of a haircut and there was a bald spot at the back of his head. 'And don't get any funny ideas, any of you!'

Isabel glared at the men. She had put her hands on her hips and stood up to them confidently. 'My father's co-worker saw the helicopter last night and he was about to help these three bring the police on our tracks,' she snarled back at them. 'Now he thinks they're safely on their way to the police station, but instead we're going to lock them in with the other one! By the time anyone finds them, we'll all be safely out of the country.'

Philip couldn't believe his ears. Isabel was one of those villains! And to think he had thought her quite likable just a moment ago! He felt hot anger rise inside of him, knotting up his stomach, and couldn't help spitting out the words in a spiteful tone as he asked, 'what did you do to my sister?'

Isabel smirked at him. 'Oh, nothing much, Philip – don't worry yourself! We locked her in and fed her, and she is just fine. Thanks to me by the way – for old Klaus here really has a thing for her. But I told him not to touch her.' She pointed at fellow with the twirled moustache who was still threatening Lucy-Ann with his weapon.

'Oh, so I ought be thankful to you now?' asked Philip in an icy tone, and Isabel shrugged, looking very cool and indifferent towards his anger.

'Whatever you feel like,' she told him.

Klaus, the fellow with the gun, who always spoke with that strange accent, was not as casual as Isabel about the situation. 'We mustn't waste our time on zis unfortunate interruption,' he announced. 'Best lock zem up right now and carry on wiz our preparations.' He made an impatient gesture to urge everyone to move.

Two others pulled out guns from their belts and each positioned himself close to one of their newly re-acquired hostages. Klaus clearly wanted to take care of Lucy-Ann but at seeing this Philip quickly stepped forward a little and positioned himself between the two. He earned himself a hard shove in the ribs from the villain for doing so and gasped in pain – for he was still a bit sore from the kick in the middle he had received the day before – but he remained standing where he was, shielding Lucy-Ann firmly.

Seeing the scene, Isabel stepped in as well. She glared at Klaus and even gave him a rough push, moving him away from Lucy-Ann and snapping, 'I'll take care of her. You take care of him.' She nodded towards Philip. Then she told the hostages to hold out their hands. Jack, Philip and Lucy-Ann couldn't do anything but oblige as the men bound their wrists tightly together before they were led away from the clearing.

For the second time within two days Jack felt the uncomfortable sensation of having a gun pressed firmly between his shoulder blades. He didn't say anything but he was furious – at those men of course and the way they treated them all – but also at himself for trusting Isabel. He should have known her enthusiasm to chase after the villains was suspicious! And now they were captured again! And what if the men wanted them all out of the way for good – now that they had seen their faces?

'Wipe your feet,' said Kiki suddenly very sternly to the man walking behind Jack. He had totally forgotten about her – she had flown off his shoulder to a nearby tree upon the villains' arrival and until now she had kept quiet. But she did not agree at all with how they treated her beloved Jack and so she came back to his shoulder and ranted at the man threatening him, 'and don't sniff! Where's your handkerchief – bless my soul! Ding dong bell – Polly's in the well.'

'Shut up,' grumbled the man at the parrot, but Kiki had no intention of doing so.

'Open your book on page six,' she said, cocking her head. Then she fell into a cackle of laughter. It was loud and shrill and it annoyed the fellow endlessly. He gave Jack a painfully hard nudge in the back.

'Make that bird shut up at once or I'll wring its neck,' he roared angrily.

Jack reached up, ready to clasp Kiki's beak with his hand, but just at that moment, she fluttered off his shoulder once more.

'What a pity, what a pity,' she said sulkily to herself perching on a branch right above Jack's head. 'Poor Polly. Naughty boy, naughty boy!'

'Come on, Frank, leave ze bird,' said Klaus from behind.

He clearly was the most impatient about getting to move. Every few steps he gave Philip strong shove, making him stumble a few steps and nearly sending him face first into a small thornbush at one time. When Frank didn't react, Klaus led the others past him. Frank kept staring at Kiki for a bit, who was still sulking up in the tree, but then he followed the others with Jack still walking in front of him.

They didn't have to go much further. When they reached a small house, just like the one Isabel lived in with her parents, Jack, Philip and Lucy-Ann were ushered inside and upstairs to the second floor, where Klaus unlocked a room and roughly shoved them inside.

They were locked in, but at least there was one very pleasant surprise waiting for them here – Dinah! She was sitting on the window sill, trying to peer out, but when her brother and their friends were pushed into the room with her, she got up from her seat and exclaimed excitedly, 'Philip! Jack! Lucy-Ann – gosh, how did you get here?'

Happy to see that her friend was unharmed, Lucy-Ann strode forward and hugged Dinah.

'Are you alright, Di?' asked Philip, who was just as relieved to see her. He didn't hug Dinah, but he lay a hand on her upper arm and gave it a squeeze, a worried look etched on his face. 'Did the men hurt you?'

Dinah shook her head. She had been given small portions of food and water several times and had had a warm and dry place to sleep. She also hadn't been touched or hurt by her captors either. All she had done since arriving here the day before was to sit in the tiny room and wait for something to happen.

Seeing Philip and the others made her feel better – for she had worried about them – and she didn't brush off her brother's hand on her arm as she might have done at another time. Instead she slightly leaned into his touch, though only just enough that she could be sure that he knew she was alright.

'How did you get here?' she asked one more time.

'It's a long story – but to cut it short we most unfortunately ended up being trapped,' admitted Lucy-Ann. Then she and the two boys took turns intelling Dinah what had happened.

'So, that's why suddenly they all ran off into the woods!' said Dinah. 'I could hear that there was just some uproar among the men. I think they always have one or two of them strolling about outside to make sure they know if someone's getting close to this place. Whoever was on guard must have seen you approach and come back here to get the others!'

'And before we knew it we were surrounded,' said Jack with a nod.

'And you sillies let that girl, Isabel, lead you right into a trap,' Dinah concluded, shaking her head. 'But to be fair, of course, you had no means of distrusting her.'

'Well, I'm afraid we should have noticed something was suspicious about her,' admitted Jack. He glanced over at Philip and added, 'but – you see, old Tufty here was quite smitten with her and I guess we just –'

Lucy-Ann interrupted him with an indignant huff. 'You're telling Dinah only half of the truth, Jack,' she corrected her brother – which was a rare thing for her to do. But it had to be said! 'You _both_ were quite smitten with her, don't think I didn't realise it!'

Upon hearing this Dinah have first Philip then Jack an indignant stare, then she slapped her brother, who was still standing close to her, hard against the back of his head. 'You boys are unbelievable,' she scolded.

Rubbing the place where Dinah had smacked him, Philip defended himself, 'I was only intrigued by the fact that she's studying at university to become a vet – just as I'm going to do – that's all.'

Dinah shook her head and make a low noise, almost like a snort. 'I bet she's never seen a university from the inside before. She and the others are bank-robbers! They have robbed a dozen banks all over Britain, and they are keeping their theft hidden somewhere about. I think they're going to leave the country!'

'How do you know?' asked Jack.

Dinah grinned. 'I listened to them talking. I was locked up in here since last night with nothing to do so I crouched by the door and tried to overhear what they were saying!'

'Golly, you're clever, Dinah,' said Jack approvingly. 'What else did you find out?'

'There leaving us here, locked up in this room,' said Dinah, looking miserable now. 'That's what they said they'd do to me. Tomorrow, I'm afraid, they will be ready to pick up all their theft from where it's hidden and then they'll leave the country. They discussed if they should tell anyone about me being here, but decided that they would tell the police my whereabouts only when they're safely away from here.'

'So eventually we'll be rescued, but not for a long time,' Jack concluded. 'Blow! I wish old Kiki would fly back to the Springtons and call Rory or Tilda for help.'

'Kiki?' asked Dinah in astonishment. 'How could she … wait a moment – is she ...?'

'Of course! Dinah doesn't know yet that Kiki came with us – all the way since we were first kidnapped,' said Lucy-Ann with a chuckle. 'We think she must have sat on the helicopter's skids. But I haven't heard or seen her since –'

'Since Frank chased her off into that tree,' said Philip. 'I'm glad she flew away or otherwise the men might have become even more short-tempered than they are already – what with her babbling all the time. But … golly – she might even find the way back to the Springstons, Jack – do you reckon? She's such a clever bird!'

Jack agreed with that but he was also worried for his pet bird. Kiki was clever indeed, but he had no doubts that if the men so much as spotted her near the house somewhere, she'd be history.

He went to the window and had a look outside. Wooden planks were nailed against it from the outside; it was difficult to look past them. If Kiki was there somewhere there was little chance that he would be able to see her from here.

He turned around to the others. 'Well, for now I suppose Kiki will stick around somewhere near. Maybe she'll give the men a fright at night if they leave their windows open.' He grinned. 'She's done that to other villains before!'

The thought made the others giggle until Lucy-Ann pointed out that it would be unlikely. They had seen Kiki – so they would know it was her talking if they would hear someone's voice outside their window at night. After she had said that she suddenly remembered Philip's latest pet too. 'I say, while we're at it, Philip – where's Hopper?'

'Hopper?' asked Dinah suspiciously moving a few steps to get some distance between herself and her brother – just in case.

'Just a rabbit, don't get upset, Dinah,' said Philip, slightly annoyed at her squeamishness. It was fun teasing her at times, but now they really had other things to worry about! 'I left him on the Springtons' veranda anyway. He's probably hobbled back into woods by now.'

'Anything else you picked up to carry around with you?' asked Dinah, who didn't quite feel reassured yet.

Philip stared at her for a moment but then he shook his head. He was completely devoid of any pets but from the looks of it Dinah didn't seem to believe that. 'Well, I can't help it if she doesn't want to trust me,' he thought to himself.

But even if he had some creature on him, what could Dinah do, other than retreat to the furthest corner? They were prisoners, with no way of getting out any time soon. The door was locked – Jack had tried the knob, just in case, but it wouldn't budge. And through that window they couldn't get out either. Philip had already eyed it very carefully; the planks outside were strong and sturdy. They didn't look as if they would come loose anytime soon – and certainly not without making lots of noise.

'What do you suppose we do now?' Philip asked into the silence that had ensued.

'Wait,' said Jack. 'And as soon as they are gone in the morning, we'll try to get the those planks off the window and see if we can escape. Then we go back to Tilda and Rory's house and have them take us to the next police station. We might be in time to catch them before they leave the country!'

At thinking about Isabel's parents Lucy-Ann suddenly made a low gasping noise, and covered her mouth with both of her hands. 'Do you think they are maybe involved in this as well, Jack?' she asked, with her eyes wide and looking horrified. Her voice was muffled by her hands, clutched over her mouth, but Jack understood her well enough. He shook his head.

'No, I don't think so,' he said reassuringly, putting his arm around his sister. 'I'm quite sure they don't have any idea what Isabel is involved in.'

Everyone was miserable at the thought of that. 'Poor Tilda and Rory if Isabel is going abroad with the others,' said Lucy-Ann who was always full of compassion. 'She probably can't come back for a while.'

'Maybe not ever,' said Dinah.

'Poor Tilda and Rory,' repeated Lucy-Ann.

The others agreed but there wasn't anything they could have done about it!


	6. A Midnight Surprise

**A/N:** Really happy to know this has found some fans ... :) Thanks for reviewing!

It wouldn't come out as nicely without a lovely beta-reader, though. So once more thanks to **_Awilliamsbbc.98_** for taking the time to have a look at it before it's posted!

Cheerio!

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Chapter 6: A Midnight Surprise

The evening passed by slowly. About an hour after Philip, Jack and Lucy-Ann had joined Dinah in her prison the door was unlocked again and one of the men came in and gave them a few scraps of food and water. But it was clear that their kidnappers expected them to share between four what was really a scrawny portion for only one person.

Soon after they had devoured all but the last crumb they decided it was time to get some rest. The boys sprawled out on rugs on the floor, and so did Dinah, while Lucy-Ann occupied the one narrow bed there was in the room. Philip, Jack and Lucy-Ann fell asleep quickly, for they were tired out from their walk around the lake and the strenuous ascend towards Tilda's and Rory's house.

But Dinah lay awake for a long while. At one time she was about to doze off when next to her Jack rolled over in his sleep and unknowingly shoved his arm into her face, while squashing her up against the wall with the rest of his body. Of course she was wide awake after that! Angrily, she dug her elbow into his ribs, but he merely grunted something and rolled back over to the other side. Having some room for herself once more, she tried to get comfortable again, but sleep just wouldn't come.

On Jack's other side Philip gave low snores that told Dinah that he was very deeply asleep indeed. Although they were really very faint, the noise of his snores sounded unbelievingly loud in the silence of the night. Dinah wondered how Jack had managed to put up with it over all the years they had constantly shared a room – at school _and_ at home too!

When it became clear that she wasn't going to sleep anytime soon, Dinah finally struggled up – first into a sitting position, and then to her feet. Carefully as not to wake them, she climbed over the sleeping boys and tiptoed to the door. She didn't know really what made her try the knob – for certainly they were still locked in – but when she did, the door gave way!

Her heart beating fast Dinah opened it a little bit and listened. There were no noises to be heard at all. Were the men asleep? Or had they left the house already? And who had unlocked the door? Had it even been locked in the first place after they had been given their skimpy meal some hours ago?

Whatever the case – Dinah wasn't going to risk their chance to escape by wasting time on trying to figure out _why_ the door wasn't locked! As quietly as she could she slipped back into the room and first woke up Lucy-Ann before they both shook the boys from their sleep. Jack was soon wide awake – he was a light sleeper – but it took a while with Philip, who kept rolling over and falling back to sleep. Finally Dinah gave him a hearty pinch on the arm, making him sit up straight a second later.

'Blow you, Dinah – whatever are you –' he began to rant, but his sister quickly put a hand over his mouth.

'Shhhhh!' she said, seeing in what little light the moon shone in past the planks at the window that Philip was quite ready to protest very strongly against be woken in the middle of the night. And in such a way too! 'The door – it's unlocked,' she explained in a whisper. 'All we'll have to do is walk out.'

'And then what? We're in the middle of nowhere,' replied Philip, his voice now as low as Dinah's. He was grumpy, and it didn't help that he could still feel the spot on his arm where she had pinched him.

Dinah gave him a very impatient look. 'So?' she asked. 'Would you prefer to stay here?'

Equally impatient, Philip shook his head. 'No, of course not. But should we really go in the middle of the night? And if so, oughtn't we to take at least some food supplies with us?'

'Surely, you're not planning to search the house in the middle of the night, Philip,' said Lucy-Ann. 'After all, we don't know if the men are still here.'

'I haven't heard a sound for hours,' whispered Dinah, 'and I was awake most of the time. I suppose they might have gone already to dig up their theft and disappear for good! Maybe they buried it all somewhere where they can only safely dig it up at night.'

'But we can't say for sure,' said Lucy-Ann. 'They might be fast asleep in the next room'

'I say we shall go now while we still have a chance,' Jack decided. 'We can stick around somewhere near the house for a bit – find a hiding place in the woods and wait there till morning. We'd just break our legs trying to escape through the woods in the dark. If by morning time we see that the men are still around we'll just make a run for it before they catch us again – but if they're gone we'll have a look see if they've left any supplies behind. – Golly, I'm hungry again already.'

'Well, you'll have to wait until morning. But we'll do it the way you said,' announced Philip and the girls agreed.

Secretly, Dinah wasn't keen on spending the night out in the woods with beetles and spiders crawling all around in the dark, but she knew if the men had left the door unlocked by mistake, their time frame for making an escape was small. As quietly as they could, the four of them tiptoed out of the room and down the stairs. The steps creaked a little under their weight, and Lucy-Ann felt as if the whole world should be able to hear her heart beating at the sound of it. But nothing happened! They made it safely out of the front door and into the shadows of the forest while the house lay behind them, calm and quiet.

As Jack had expected it was very difficult to walk through the forest at night. Even if the sky was clear the trees shaded them from what little light the moon supplied and several times they stumbled over boughs that lay about or tree roots that protruded from the ground. Dinah once fell and only just managed to catch herself with her hands to avoid landing flat on her face. After that incident Jack insisted they stopped and hid in the bushes until morning, even though they hadn't come far yet.

Lucy-Ann and Dinah huddled up together in a thick bush while the boys just sat down on the soft, mossy ground and agreed on taking turns in watching out for the men. It was decided that Jack should take the first watch and soon he was the only one awake. To keep himself warm and avoid falling asleep he began to bounce his leg up and down, but he was careful not to wake Philip who had curled up right next to him.

Several times Jack thought he heard a squawk coming from somewhere in the darkness and every time he would listen with his heart beating fast, wondering if Kiki was somewhere about. But if she was, she hadn't noticed her beloved Jack being so close, for she didn't come to him.

When it was time for Philip to go on watch Jack had a surprisingly easy time waking him. The soil beneath them was slightly moist despite the summer weather, and sleeping out in the open with just a thin shirt and shorts on was uncomfortable. Philip began his watch feeling very cold and stiff but he was glad to see that there was already a faint light glowing in the east, foreboding the upcoming dawn. Still, it would be uncomfortably long before the sun would be strong enough to chase away the morning chill.

Hugging himself against the coolness of the night Philip cautiously walked up and down a small path in the undergrowth he could only just make out in the dawning light. He was careful to keep his senses alert, listening closely for any noises coming from the nearby house.

And then there they were! It started with an angry yell, coming through an open window. 'they're gone! Hurry everyone, get up!'

Soon more voices could be heard, ranting and swearing. There was no time to be lost! Quickly Philip woke up Jack and the girls and they all came to very fast.

'They've already noticed we're gone,' Philip told the others. 'We'll have to make a run for it.'

'Blow,' said Jack. 'Now we can forget about raiding the house for food! I'm starving!'

'Which way should we go?' said Lucy-Ann, clutching at Dinah's shirt in fright.

It still wasn't very bright yet but at least by now they could see each others outlines – and watch where they were putting their feet. Jack took the lead. He had no idea which way they should go but there was no time to give it much thought. They would have find a place to hide themselves.

A sudden noise tore through early morning quietness. A gunshot! But whom or what were the men shooting at? Were they just trying to scare them or had the four been seen already?

'Hurry!' called out Philip who was last in the line. 'I say – that sounded awfully close, I'm not keen on catching a bullet!'

They ran through forest, passing bushes and trees, desperate to put space between them and their kidnappers. But it felt as if the men were catching up. Lucy-Ann would have started to cry if she hadn't been too out of breath from trying to keep up with her brother's pace. Then suddenly a slender figure appeared in their line of sight, rounding a thick bush in front of them.

'Isabel!' exclaimed Jack, skidding to a halt to avoid running into her. Dinah almost crashed into him from behind.

'Yes, it's me you stupid idiots,' said Isabel, who was panting a little. 'I thought you might be far away by now, instead of sleeping just outside the cabin and causing such a racket in the morning. Do you _want_ to be caught again?'

She made a gesture that made it clear she wanted them all to follow. Jack looked around at the others wondering if he should trust Isabel, but the girls and Philip merely shrugged. They were all very confused with Isabel's behaviour. Whose side was she really on? And if they followed her, would they run right into the next trap?

On the other hand it was quite clear that if they remained standing where they were, they _would_ be caught in any case. Jack decided that they had no other chance but to follow Isabel. At least, she was bound to know the woods well enough to find a hiding place in time before the men would catch up. With a nod he signaled his willingness to trust her – for now.

She led them in a criss crossing trail through the thick undergrowth until they reached a very wide, very old tree.

'Get inside,' she whispered.

Only then Jack saw that the trunk was hollow. Through a narrow opening one could get inside!

'It's a good hiding place,' Isabel explained, keeping her voice low. 'Klaus and the others will stop searching soon if they don't find us. They'll want to leave the country before tonight!'

It was a tight squeeze to get inside the tree trunk. Jack and Isabel went in first and they had to climb up a bit on the inside so that the others could crouch together on the ground. Now they waited. Lucy-Ann felt her heart thumb wildly in her chest and in her anxiety she clutched Dinah's hand tightly. Nothing happened at first but then Isabel whispered from above, 'shhh, very quiet now. Here comes Klaus. I do hope he doesn't know the tree is hollow.'

Peering over the edge of the hollow trunk Jack could see Klaus approaching with his gun held at the ready. He came nearer and nearer and Jack barely dared to breath. Klaus had almost reached the tree now. He would just have to look sideways a little and he would be able to spot Dinah's legs through the opening in the tree trunk.

But then an unexpected voice caught the man's attention. 'Polly, put the kettle on. And don't sniff! Where's your handkerchief?'

Klaus stopped for a moment and strained his ears. Who had spoken? The voice had sounded like that of the tall redhead. But would he be so stupid as to give up his cover for such silly things to say?

But it was Kiki, of course! She had imitated Jack's voice, talking to herself; something she often did when she was away from Jack and feeling lonely.

At hearing Kiki talk Jack's heart began to beat even faster than before. Where was she? He couldn't see her, but he thought he knew which direction her voice was coming from. He glanced at Isabel and she put her finger across her lips, rolling her eyes downward to where Klaus still stood with his gun in hand.

Just below the tree the man stood, gazing around himself. Then the voice came again. 'Can't you shut the door, idiot? How many times do I have to tell you?'

Klaus, who had completely forgotten about the encounter with Kiki the day before, felt very irritated now. Were their escaped hostages mocking him? He _had_ shut the door and locked them well in but somehow they were free now. It wasn't his fault, though – they shouldn't be making fun of him!

'Na wartet, ihr kleinen Biester,' he drawled in his own language and made to go in the direction the voice had come from.

As soon as he was out of sight, Isabel climbed down inside the tree and slipped out past Dinah. She was away for about five minutes, then she returned. 'Quick now,' she said in a low voice. 'We need to get to my car. It's about three miles from here, parked on a field. Hurry up, everyone!'

X

 **A/N:** Just a little incidental remark: I do keep trying to stick with the books concerning everyone's description and characterisation. Sometimes, though, I do add things ... such as Philip's snoring for instance :) I know it's never mentioned in the books that he does snore, though it isn't mentioned that he doesn't, either. And for some reason or other he always seems to do in my fics :) (poor Jack has to put up with that)


	7. A New Plan

**A/N:** Yay, new chapter :)

Again, proofread by _**awilliamsbbc.98**_ – so thank you very much! :)

Thanks also for reviewing! I love to know this is being read, and I hope you'll stick with me!

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Chapter 7: A New Plan

With Isabel in the lead they all jogged the long way back to the field where Isabel had parked her father's car the day before. Panting heavily already after the first mile, poor Lucy-Ann silently vowed to herself to train harder in PE lessons at school. Her lungs were burning and she had to double over when they finally reached the car. She looked at the others; their faces were flushed and a little sweaty but they were nowhere near as out of breath as she was!

Isabel didn't seem affected at all by the exertion. She pulled out the keys from her pocket and unlocked her car. After opening the trunk as well she brought out two bottles of water and a small tin of biscuits and supplied everyone with a little snack.

Munching on a biscuit, Philip was surprised to realise that despite the fact that he hadn't had anything to eat in hours and hours, in his excitement of running away from their captivity he hadn't noticed his hunger very much until now. However, it hit him full force after his first bite, and he was sure the others felt the same. After he had had three more biscuits Jack gave him one of the water bottles which was half empty already. He gulped down the other half and felt a little better.

The girls were sharing a bottle of water between them as well. Isabel watched them all quietly but impatience was written all over her face.

'Everyone fed and feeling alright?' she finally asked.

Philip grinned at her. 'What do you mean by fed?' he asked her. 'I could eat a full box of those biscuits all by myself right now.' But when he saw that Isabel wasn't about to show her humorous side, he nodded. 'Anyway, we're feeling a little better at least, I should think.'

'Good,' said Isabel. She handed him her car keys. 'I do hope you can drive." She gave him a long, quiet look, eyeing him up and down carefully and making him feel scrutinised. 'You're looking almost old enough, anyway,' she added patronisingly. 'And the four of you keep spoiling my plans. I want you out of the way – the sooner the better.'

Plans – which plans? What was going on here?

In any case Philip _couldn't_ drive. Surely, he had seen how Bill or his mother handled a car, but he had never tried it himself. It was something he had planned to practice in his free time before university would start for him in autumn. But he didn't think that right now was the best moment for him to try it out.

Before he could say something, though, Jack snatched the keys from him, explaining, ' _I_ know how to drive. I did it in New Zealand. Mr Painshaw sprained his ankle once so I had to drive our car for a couple of days. I didn't have a license but no one cared for we were right in the middle of nowhere – just as we are now.' He looked at Isabel with a deep frown. 'But I shan't leave without at least a little bit more of information. You keep switching sides, Isabel – tell us the truth.'

Rolling her eyes impatiently, Isabel snapped, 'very well, here's the short version. I'm with the police force. I've been given the assignment to catch a bunch of bank robbers who seemed to be hiding around here and operating from this place. And if you'll excuse me now, Jack, I'll have to go and see what I can make of the spoiled situation we've got here.'

She looked as if she meant to go, but Jack stepped into her way. The way he stood before her, drawn up to his full height and hands on his hips, Dinah thought to herself that he had grown into looking rather impressive these past years. He must be well over six feet now, and he was quickly losing his teenage lankiness for a broader, more athletic built. Next to him Isabel looked rather petite, but one look at her told Dinah that _she_ wasn't very impressed at all.

Isabel sneered at Jack. 'Get out of my way, will you? If you're planning to make yourself useful, get into my car and call in at the next police station.'

Jack shook his head. 'What about your parents, Tilda and Rory?' he asked. 'Do _they_ know what you're up to?'

Isabel scowled. 'Rory and Tilda Springston aren't my parents, silly, they're my cover-up. I made the gangsters think I was their daughter and that I stumbled upon their doings merely by accident in my time at home from university. I blackmailed them into letting me take part. Then I gained their trust and they told me almost everything I needed to know to arrest them and have them put to jail.'

'But if you know everything about them, why haven't you called the forces yet to take them down?' asked Jack.

Rolling her eyes Isabel went on explaining, 'because I meant to fly out of the country with them. My main target was to find out who their actual boss is. He's based somewhere in Austria, we think. Klaus is the main connection – he's Austrian too.'

'So that's why he speaks with that funny accent!' Lucy-Ann chimed in, excitedly.

Isabel nodded curtly. 'l'm afraid you spoiled that last bit of my plan for me. I thought I had you out of the way – but safely – by having you locked in the cabin. You see, my plan was to keep you all away from any police forces until I was well out of the country with the Klaus and the others. You weren't supposed to get out until we got away. I unlocked the door tonight because I was sure I wouldn't get a chance to do it in the morning without being seen – I certainly wasn't expecting you to sneak out in the middle of the night. And on top of that you were silly enough to stick near to the cottage after that! I had to blow my cover to make sure you weren't about to get shot after the men noticed that you fled!'

'Gracious,' said Dinah, feeling very stupid indeed. 'I am awfully sorry that we made a mess of your plans.'

Isabel gave her a look that seemed a little more forgiving. 'You had no way of knowing,' she said. 'But now I really must try to find out who their boss is. You shall drive away and be safe. And I will try to get on board of their plane and see if I can find any references to their boss in Austria.' Demonstratively, she held open the car door at the driver side. 'Go to the local police station and tell the men there all that you know. Make sure that they'll set out and arrest Klaus and the others before they can fly out.'

She turned to go but Philip put a hand on her shoulder. 'Hold on,' he said, 'won't you need any help?'

For the second time that morning Isabel eyed him very carefully from head to toe and he found himself wishing that she would stop doing that. She was so tough for a girl – or woman – that her scrutinising glances made him feel uncharacteristically timid! But he pulled himself together and added, 'say, wouldn't it be awfully convenient if there was someone to help you distract the men or lure them away from the helicopter so you can go in and search it thoroughly?'

Isabel cocked her head and sighed. 'I've already put all of you at risk. I won't do it again.'

'But –'

'You heard what she said, Philip,' said Dinah who was only too happy to side up with Isabel – not only because she didn't like the thought of one of them getting themselves into danger once more, but also because she was quite impressed by the tough young woman and ready to please her.

But instead of agreeing with Dinah's words Isabel considered for a moment and finally announced, 'well, on the other hand ... it _could_ be beneficial to get a hand at this, after all. However, I do hope you're up for this. And I'm not taking you if you're a minor.'

'Well, I'm not – I'm eighteen,' said Philip smugly. 'So's Jack, but he can't come too, for he needs to get the girls away from here.'

'I'm not going anywhere if you're not coming,' said Lucy-Ann, shaking her head. 'I couldn't stand the thought of you being in danger and us just driving away.'

'You're to go and call the forces!' said Isabel angrily. 'I won't bargain with you on that.' She turned to Philip and added, 'I'm going to accept your offer to help me. Come on, we'll have to hurry. We shall think of a plan once we've reached the hiding place from where Klaus and the others are planning to fly out and gathered a little more information on how far they've got already with loading the plane.'

'And where is this place?' asked Jack who wasn't happy at all with the latest turn of events. He didn't like the thought of letting Philip go with Isabel anymore than the others did, especially not when he was supposed to stay behind. And on top of that Kiki was still missing – making Jack feeling very worried for her too.

Isabel pointed at the passenger seat of her car. 'I've got a map on which I marked the hiding place. The police shall find it easily enough once you called them. – It's by a lake about five and a half miles away from here,' she said to Philip. 'I hope you're in good shape – we'll be running all the way there.'

'I'll manage,' said poor Philip, doing his best to sound confident although secretly he wished it wasn't _that_ far. He was tired after the short uncomfortable night he and the others had had, and he had a distinct feeling that Isabel had really meant it when she had said they would be running. He wondered if he would be able to keep up!

Isabel turned to Jack once more. 'You'll be able to find the way to the next village by using the map as well. Do hurry, get the girls and yourself out of here, Jack.'

Staring at the car keys in his hand, Jack nodded. He would certainly make sure to get the girls out of danger!

Isabel gave Philip a little nudge with her elbow. 'Off we go, Cowboy,' she said with a grin. And off she did go, jogging back into the direction of the forest. Feeling himself blush a little Philip made to go after her with a little sigh. This was going to be a very trying morning!

After the two of them had disappeared into the woods Dinah began searching for the map. It was hidden below the passenger seat. She took it out and unfolded it. Tapping her finger on the marked spot she said to Jack, 'look, here is the lake Isabel spoke of.'

Curiously, Jack eyed the map as well. He pointed out another area. 'And look, here's the other lake – the one where we spent the first night out here. Rory's and Tilda's cottage must be here.' He indicated the spot. 'And here's the village where the police station is. I suppose we might need around twenty minutes to drive there.' Checking his watch he announced, 'that means we still have some time left to try and find Kiki!'

'You're not meaning to go back into the woods, Jack, are you?' asked Lucy-Ann. 'You heard what Isabel said – the men are dangerous. And we're supposed to leave this place.'

'Well, we do have a bit of time,' insisted Jack. 'It's barely eight o'clock in the morning. Remember, we've been up at dawn! Besides, I'm still hungry after those flimsy biscuits. Lucy-Ann, look through Isabel's car please and see if there's anything else that's edible. I shall go and see if I can whistle for Kiki's attention.'

He walked back to where the woods began and put two fingers to his mouth to let out a few short but loud whistles. He didn't dare shouting for Kiki although he knew that it would be much more likely it would lure her to him. It might catch also the villains' attention though.

After walking a bit, cautiously looking around to make sure that he wouldn't get caught again, he gave up on finding Kiki – at least for the moment. He was sure that she couldn't be too far away. She did have a knack of finding out where the excitement was and she might even now be on Philip's and Isabel's trail – to unknowingly assist them with their task! If not, Jack would search every yard in the woods to find her as soon as the police had taken away the robbers!

He was on his way back to the car when the gnawing feeling of hunger began occupying his mind more and more and he wondered if he could risk getting a look at the house where he and the others had been held captive. There might still be some food supplies there. Of course, Jack knew full well that he wasn't supposed to do what he was doing, but he ended up being a slave to his rumbling stomach. He glanced at his watch once more. Twenty past eight – surely he still had lots of time! But which way was it? He tried to remember. It couldn't be _that_ far!


	8. What Happened To The Helicopter?

**A/N:** And here comes chapter 8 ... meet bossy Isabel (again ...)

Thanks to everyone who's reading – looking forward to your comments :)

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Chapter 8: What Happened To The Helicopter?

Philip wondered if they were finally getting close to the lake as he jogged after Isabel. They must have run about three miles when the path had started to slope upward – very slightly at first but getting steeper after a bit. Isabel was still making a good pace, making Philip feel quite glad for the training he had done at school for Mr Mills' relay race. Otherwise, he might have had to give up by now. He could feel his heart thumping in his chest, and there was an uncomfortable ringing tone in his ears that wouldn't go away.

Suddenly Isabel stopped just before a broad rock that was blocking their way. Philip nearly ran her into her, but he too stopped just in time. He needed a moment to catch his breath so he leaned against a thick tree and mopped his forehead on the fabric of his shirt, pulling it up to his face. Jogging uphill at Isabel's speed had gotten him sweaty even if the morning sun wasn't very strong yet. Isabel watched him with a lopsided smirk.

'Beyond that rock the path falls steeply downhill towards the lake where their water plane is parked,' she said. 'From this point on we must be very cautious.' She wrinkled her brows. 'Let's just start by getting a good look at the scene. I bet they'll be in hurry, now that they know you four are free.'

'And you probably can't just go down and say it was all just an unfortunate misunderstanding, for they won't trust you anymore after you disappeared at the same time as we did,' Philip concluded.

'Why, you're super clever, aren't you?' replied Isabel sneerily. She felt sorry for it a moment later and apologised. 'Never mind my snappish comments – I know I'm being a prickly little beast at times,' she said to him very quietly. 'It's how you learn to behave as an only girl among loads of men in the police force.'

Philip grinned at her. 'Oh, don't worry – I've got Dinah for a sister, so I'd know about prickly. Besides, I don't think you are. Prickly, I mean.' He hoped he didn't blush at saying that last bit, but his cheeks felt hot. He decided to blame it on all the exertion that morning.

Isabel grinned back at him. 'We'll see what you'll say in a few hours.' Then she became very serious again. 'And just to be clear on this – between you and me, and for as long as we're here, I'm to be the boss. You'll do everything I say, the way I say it. There are to be no stunts and no funny ideas on your part – Klaus and the others won't hesitate to hurt anyone that comes in their way.' She made a long pause, looking genuinely worried. 'Don't let me regret my decision to take you. – And now up onto the rock you get! Come over, I'll give you a leg up.'

Philip shook his head indignantly. 'I'm heavy' he said, 'you'll never manage.'

But she let out a snort and then gave him a very stern look. 'I'm the boss, remember? And now hurry up and don't be stupid. I'm a strong girl; you're most certainly not too heavy for me to help you up on that little piece of stone, I'll promise.'

The rock was too high and its surface too smooth to climb up without help. Isabel linked her hands together and held them out for Philip to put a foot into. With a sigh he relented, and she did give him a very good push upward. She was quite a strong girl indeed! As soon as he was safely up, lying on his tummy, he wriggled around to face her and held out his hands to pull her up as well.

They lay side by side flat on their tummies, looking down on a huge lake that lay in a rocky valley. This lake was less accessible than the one where Philip, Jack and Lucy-Ann had spent their first night on this adventure – this one was mostly surrounded by rather steep and rocky slopes that were hugely overgrown with bushes and fern. It was also outside the park boundaries and no hiking map had a path marked to come here. It was a very lonely place – and perfect one to hide one's theft in a cave.

A water plane sat on the lake's surface on the opposite side and not far from it lay a small motor boat on the lake's edge. Behind the boat, Philip could see the narrow entrance to a cave in the rocks and out of the opening came one of the villains now. He seemed to be carrying something heavy, which he put into the boat.

'What is it they've hidden in the cave?' asked Philip, watching curiously as the man hoisted his bag into the motorboat. 'It certainly doesn't look like it's banknotes – it seems to be a lot heavier than that!'

'It's gold,' said Isabel. 'We've raided the banks for gold. One of us would let themselves get locked in at night, turn off the alarm and let the others in. We would carry all the gold out of the storages and leave in the dark of the night. The last attempt failed, though. Klaus – the one locked in – couldn't find a way to open the doors for us. He hid in the vault until we managed to get him out in the morning by threatening the bank staff with our guns.'

Philip let out a low whistle. 'Golly – that explains a lot!' he said.

Isabel nodded. 'Yes, we really had to make a run for it. It was my idea to try and get into the station building next door to the bank and take hostages there to make an escape.' Again, she paused, glancing at him and looking abashed. 'So I am the one to be blamed for getting the four of you into this situation in the first place. I'm sorry.'

'Well, never mind – this isn't our first adventure. Besides, we're all still pretty much unharmed,' replied Philip, trying to cheer her up. But then he thought of Bill and couldn't stop himself from adding, 'except for our friend Bill, of course.'

Isabel looked thoroughly guilty when he mentioned Bill. 'I'm dreadfully sorry about that, too,' she said, avoiding his eyes. 'But for what it's worth, he wasn't harmed very badly. He'll be in pain for a while and his shoulder will be stiff, but the bullet went straight through it. It wasn't life threatening. You see, we really couldn't take him with us, the helicopter was too crowded already and there was really a little too much weight on it as well.'

'Where _is_ the helicopter, by the way?' asked Philip.

'I'm afraid we sank it into the lake,' Isabel explained. 'It was clear we couldn't take it for our last journey – we needed a plane to get out of the country with all that gold, so we had to dispose of the helicopter.'

'It's in the lake?' Philip could hardly believe his ears. He stared at the smooth surface of the water down below and couldn't imagine that there should be the helicopter deep down beyond it!

'I'm afraid so,' said Isabel.

'Gracious!'

'Now, let's stop worrying about that for a bit. We need to think up a plan of what to do,' said Isabel. 'I have to get on board that plane and see if there's any hint to what destination they're headed. Or if there's any information about their boss on board. That's the most I can do now.' She wrinkled her brows, thinking it through.

So did Philip. 'First thing we'll have to take away their boat,' he concluded. 'They won't be able to move more of the gold into the plane without it. It's too heavy to swim with it.'

'But we also need to keep them busy, while I'm searching the plane,' Isabel added thoughtfully. 'On the other hand I don't really want you too near to them – they're armed, as you know. And even if none of them has an interest to become a murderer, a gunshot wound is painful – even if it isn't mortal.'

'Gosh, I'd rather not try it out,' said Philip, paling at the thought. He squinted his eyes at the strengthening sunlight that blinded him, while watching as now three of the remaining villains entered the motor boat and steered it to the plane. He wondered where the fourth was, but forgot about it when a sudden idea popped into his head.

'I could steal their boat, couldn't I?' he suggested. 'While they're in the cave I could unbind it and take it out to the middle of the lake.' He grinned and gave Isabel a light nudge in his excitement. 'Then I should be able to steer it up and down the lake and they'll be quite busy trying to figure out how to get it back from me. I don't suppose they'll shoot, they can't risk accidentally sinking their boat!'

Isabel considered the idea. 'I say, this might really work,' she said approvingly. She studied the embankment along the lake from the spot just below their rock all the way to the cave where the gold was hidden. The entrance to it was nearly inaccessible for there was no path leading to it. 'We must get as close as possible to the cave. Except for the last bit, we can easily move along the brink, then you'll have to climb over the cliffs for a bit or swim to the boat. We'll be hidden from their sight behind trees and bushes for most of the time – they won't see us if we keep low and stay very cautious.'

Philip nodded in agreement.

Shading her eyes from the sunlight, Isabel pointed out and added, 'See that ledge down there, not far from the entrance to the cave, just above the water? I'll swim to the plane from there. You can climb or swim from there as well to get to the boat. Whatever you think you'll be faster with.'

'Golly – this is getting really exciting,' said Philip, feeling slightly nervous at the task that lay ahead of him. His pulse felt to be up to double speed and his palms were sweaty. But he was determined to not let Isabel notice. 'Shall we then?' He gave her a look.

Isabel sighed deeply. 'I do hope I won't regret taking you,' she said once more, rolling her eyes, but then she nodded in agreement. 'Come on then, we'll have to hurry – it's quite a long way to the ledge. We'll have to round the lake halfway.' She grinned at his face as he realised they would be running again, but this time with their knees bent and their heads held low! 'Good thing, we're quite in shape, isn't it?'

'I shan't be able to walk properly for a long time after this adventure is over – I'll be too stiff,' said Philip as he carefully climbed down the rock and into the thick undergrowth that grew along the slope.

Isabel chuckled. 'You're doing well so far – in case that helps. And now hurry up!'

Off they went. Philip was thankfully for the fact that their way led them mostly downhill this time. He certainly couldn't have run another mile uphill. Isabel kept stopping now and again to peer through the bushes and trees and see if the men had disappeared back into the cave yet. At first Philip also stopped every time she stopped, but she urged him to run on, for she easily caught up with him every time.

Finally they had almost reached the ledge from where they could jump into the water. Once there they would be in plain sight so before moving out of their coverage Isabel stopped behind a thick bush. They men had just disappeared inside the cave again. 'Now or never,' she whispered to Philip and started stripping off her clothes.

Philip who had decided that he would swim as well to where the boat lay, also pulled off his shirt and shoes. He was a good swimmer and although he was a little tired already from all the running, he was sure he would be faster that way than by climbing over the cliffs. He left his shorts on, hoping they wouldn't get in the way of passing the distance as quickly as possible. He told himself that dipping into the refreshing coolness of the water would be enjoyable. All the exertion of the past hours had made him feel very hot and sweaty.

Isabel was already in her underwear, and Philip couldn't help giving her a curious look. He thought that she was very muscular for a woman, and although he wasn't sure if he liked that on a girl he couldn't help being impressed! She caught him staring and grinned.

'What? Have you never seen a girl in her underwear before?'

He had – for he had a sister – but none like Isabel!

She didn't give him time to answer anyway. 'Hurry now, Philip, or we'll be too late. And I don't want you to be in any more danger than you are already just because we tarried too long!'

They dived into the water and began to swim. After a couple of yards their ways separated and Isabel crawled over to the plane while Philip passed on to the boat. Getting on board was a bit of a challenge, for after swimming his arms felt a little tired too, but he managed, panting heavily. He untied the boat and then found the starter – and with a roar the motor came to life.

Not a second too early! The moment Philip steered the boat into cover behind the plane the men came rushing out of the cave, shouting angrily. But as expected, they didn't dare to shoot for as long as the boat moved. The couldn't aim at a moving target and there was a chance that they might hit and thereby sink the boat!

Looking back over his shoulder, Philip still counted only three of the men. Wherever was the fourth?


	9. An Unnecessary Risk

**A/N:** Not sure if there was too much flirtatiousness in the last chapter ... It was meant to be very subtle really ... anyway, this isn't a romance story and I don't suppose it's going to turn into one either ...

As always: **thanks** to anyone who's reviewed!

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Chapter 9: An Unnecessary Risk

Meanwhile Jack still hadn't found Kiki, but he _had_ found the cottage where he, Philip and the girls had been locked up the night before. There it was, sitting peacefully on its small clearing in the thick woods.

Jack stood in hiding for a little while, crouching behind a thorny bush and trying to decide whether or not he could risk to go in and try to find some food supplies.

'I might as well be able to find some clues to help Isabel with,' he told himself. There was really no reason why Philip should get all the excitement for himself! Jack, too, was ready to do his bit to bring this adventure to a happy ending!

'And it's really not very risky', he thought confidently, when after watching the cabin for some minutes still nothing had happened. 'The men are long gone. I'll just take a quick look around and then be gone too!'

Carefully, he crept around the small cottage, ducked low and hidden from sight by the undergrowth, then he stopped again and waited for a bit. But still there was no sign that there was anybody here; everything remained quiet.

Finally Jack dared to leave his cover. Quickly, he went to the door and tried to open it but it was locked. _Blow_!

He was about to give up on his plan, but just as he turned to creep back into the bushes he saw that next to the door a window was slightly ajar. _Aha_! Jack went over to inspect it more closely; there was a small clasp holding the window in place; once undone it would surely open completely without much trouble.

Carefully, Jack put his hand through the narrow gap, feeling for the clasp. He soon found and undid it. Then he pushed the window open more widely and eyed the hole it left. It wasn't very large but should be big enough for him to squeeze through. At least that was what he hoped – the very last thing he needed now was to get stuck!

With a little difficulty he hoisted himself up and was glad find that he could slip through the gap more easily than he had thought he would. After he had climbed in, Jack closed the window again. Then he began to survey his surroundings.

He must be in a kitchen of some sort he realised – and grinned. Just the place he would have liked to be. Now for finding some food!

Searching through the cupboards he soon discovered a few tins the men had left behind – what luck! He was about to squeeze the supplies into his pockets when he spotted a cloth lying on the counter and had a better idea. He could wrap all the tins up in the cloth and carry them much more easily that way.

After he had bound his supplies up, he looked for a tin opener and soon found that as well. He pocketed it, feeling rather pleased with himself.

So far everything had gone well, making Jack feel confident enough to continue exploring a little bit around the house. If truth be told, he didn't expect to find very much. If the men were about to flee for good they wouldn't have left behind any clues as to where they were about to go. But Jack decided it couldn't hurt to have a look anyway. He still had time, he assured himself.

He inspected every room very thoroughly, but just as he had expected there wasn't anything there that would have seemed to be of interest. Most rooms were almost empty except for a few mattresses on the floor and some also had a small cupboard. Jack opened every drawer but found nothing inside them. He went to the top floor and there it was just the same.

He was about to get back into the kitchen to gather the tins and go back to where the girls were waiting for him when suddenly he heard a noise coming from the front door.

His heart beating fast, Jack stood very still at the bottom of the stairs and listened. Was one of the men coming back? Weren't they supposed to be busy digging up their theft? But there was no mistaking – the sound he heard was that of the key being turned in the lock!

Frantically, Jack tried to think of a place to hide. He knew he didn't have time to gather his neatly wrapped up food supplies and slip out through the window. The only thing he could think of was to hurry back up the stairs. As he did he felt glad that his rubber-soled shoes made no sound at all. He hastily tiptoed towards one of the rooms. There was a large wardrobe in it; he had searched it for clues just a moment ago and he was sure that he could easily hide inside of it.

He slipped into the room without making a sound and made for the wardrobe. After closing its door behind him, Jack crouched down inside it and began to wait, trying to calm his breathing.

There were faint noises coming from down below him. It sounded as if someone was rummaging through the cupboards, just as Jack had done. But who was it? Shouldn't the robbers all be gone by now? Maybe they had forgotten something. Although it did seem unlikely because there was so little in the house that seemed worth being taken.

Jack wondered. Was it maybe just Isabel who had changed her mind and come back to the house for some reason? A very nasty thought came to his mind. What if Isabel wasn't as trustworthy as they had thought? If so, what about Philip? For an awful moment Jack thought that his friend might get harmed after all.

'Golly, I'd better not jump to conclusions,' he told himself sternly. 'Isabel _can't_ switch sides yet again. And even if so I suppose old Tufty should be able to defend himself against a girl.'

Of course, Isabel didn't count for an average girl. She was a trained police officer and probably knew a hundred ways how to knock out even a bigger and stronger opponent than Philip was. But Jack didn't get to dwell on his terrifying thoughts, for he suddenly realised that there was someone coming up the stairs. He held his breath when he heard the person enter the room with the wardrobe in it.

Jack's heart beat so vigorously that he thought that it should jump out of his chest any moment, but for good reason – someone was walking about in the same room where he was hidden! Who was it? The steps sounded too heavy for it to be Isabel or Philip. It _had_ to be one of the men.

And then the door of the wardrobe was opened and Jack found himself staring into the barrel of a gun.

'Dachte ich es mir doch,' said a voice Jack recognised easily even though he didn't understand the words. Then Klaus continued in his funnily accented English. 'Zere you have hidden. I knew someone was here because I left the house just a few minutes ago and by the time I got back, someone had tried to raid ze kitchen. Come out of zere – off we go.'

He waved his revolver a little and Jack stood up straight and came out of the wardrobe. What else could he have done?

Although he was afraid of the armed villain he couldn't help asking rather boldly, 'where are we going?'

Klaus smiled evilly. 'To ze lake. Ze ozers will soon be done with ze work. Zen I won't need zem anymore. But I'll need you, to get zat traitor Isabel off my back. I _never_ trusted her – she wouldn't even let me touch zat feisty girl!'

Dinah – he was talking about Dinah!

'You're a bastard,' said Jack, before he could stop himself. He got a box on the ear for it and after that he bit his tongue to avoid further unadvised comments. Nevertheless, Klaus gave him rough push and made him stumble forward a few steps, then the man shoved his gun into his hostage's back – causing a feeling Jack had become uncomfortably familiar with lately.

They walked down the stairs and into the kitchen where Klaus made Jack gather up the cloth holding all the tins he had found.

'So ... you zought you could steal my supplies,' the Austrian remarked, watching calmly. 'Sorry, lad, but no one steals from old Klaus. I'll have you know zat well enough by ze end of ze day!'

With the end of a rope he produced from his pocket, the man tied Jack's hands together tightly behind his back and attached the wrapped up cloth to it. It was now dangling uncomfortably from his bound wrists.

'Move!' ordered Klaus and directed his hostage towards the front door.

Walking in front of the man, poor Jack felt very cross at himself for not being more cautious. To think that he had spoiled Isabel's plans once more! How were they to stop the men from flying off to safety now, if they had got back one of their hostages. Isabel couldn't risk Jack's life by trying to stop the robbers. All hope lay with the girls now – but would they be able to get help in time? Just _how_ were they to manage that? They couldn't drive the car, and it would take far too much time to walk to the next police station!

The sun was up now and it was getting very warm, but the weather wasn't the only reason why Jack's palms felt slippery with perspiration. Klaus made good pace as they strode into the woods. Jack tried to keep up but he was feeling the uncomfortably heavy cloth with all the tins in it, tearing at his arms, and the whole load bumped against his calves with every step he went. He staggered a couple of times, and each time he was rewarded with a jolly strong whack in the back for it.

Blow Klaus!

They walked quickly past trees and bushes and Jack wondered how far it would be to the lake and what Klaus would do with him once they reached the place. He was already beginning to think up a plan of how to escape when unexpectedly a voice came to his aide. 'What a pity, what a pity!'

'Shut up,' said Klaus crossly and gave Jack another nasty slap with the grip of his gun.

'I haven't said anything,' said poor Jack with a shrug. The weight of the tins tied to his wrists felt heavier with every step and he appreciated the blissful moment of rest when Klaus stopped to listen as the voice came again.

'Blow your nose! Where is your handkerchief?'

After standing still for about a minute Klaus grumbled something in his own language and then forced Jack back into movement. Not long after that the mysterious voice came again. 'How many times do I have to tell you to shut the door, idiot?'

Again Klaus stopped walking. 'Who's zere?' he shouted. 'Isabel if zat's you, I'm warning you! I've taken one of ze lads hostage again – you led him straight back into my arms. And I'm quite ready to hurt him if I must, so don't get in my way."

What happened next was rather astonishing – even to Jack who had of course recognised the voice at once. It might have been the words "hurt him" that set it off, but he wasn't sure. In any case, what followed after Klaus' words could only be described as a frightful tirade! 'Send for the doctor – Polly's got a cold! Aaa-CHOO! What a pity, what a pity! Ding Dong bell - Polly's in the well.' After that a loud whistling noise shrilled through the woods. 'Pheee, call the police! _PHEE_! _PHEE_!'

Kiki was really excited, and her loud tirade gave Klaus a real fright! He couldn't even make out how many persons might be hiding among the trees, for he was quite sure he had heard different voices!

Then with another frightful screech Kiki came out of where she had hidden in the bushes and pecked at Klaus' face angrily.

How _dare_ he take her beloved Jack prisoner?

The villain yelled angrily at the attacker, and lashed out blindly but Kiki kept coming at him from different directions.

'Pheee, call the police! _Phee_! _Phee_!' she shrieked again before hacking her beak at Klaus. Then she let loose her absolute specialty – the imitation of a train screeching through a tunnel.

Jack used the moment of inattention on his captor's part to turn around and give the man a strong shove of his own, putting his full weight into it. Taken by surprise Klaus stumbled forward. He caught himself before falling but dropped his revolver.

Seeing it, Jack wished that his hands had not been tied on his back, for he had no chance to pick up the weapon. The only thing he could do was to kick the revolver deep into a nearby thorn bush. Then he gave Klaus a hearty kick against the back of his knees, which finally made the villain fall down.

'Ha! Without the gun in your hand you're not so strong after all,' he thought.

With his arms still busy fending off Kiki, Klaus missed his chance to catch his fall and he hit his head square against a nearby trunk of a tree. Feeling dazed he just lay there for a moment, unable to do anything but watch as his hostage bolted away, that nasty parrot fluttering above his head.

X

 **A/N:** Good old Kiki ...


	10. The Girls Are On Their Own

**A/N:** Thank you for sticking with me so far! Here come the girls ... Enjoy!

X

Chapter 10: The Girls Are On Their Own

Dinah and Lucy-Ann were beginning to feel nervous. What was keeping Jack so long? He had been gone over an hour now – and they needed to hurry! There was no way of telling how long the ride into the village would take. Neither did they know how easy or difficult it would be to get the local force updated on what was happening and get the men to move out and stop those villains. If they didn't believe their tale, the police might have to do some research first and have someone inside the force confirm what Isabel had told them, and more time would be lost!

Neither of the girls wanted to risk the police coming in too late, especially not since Philip had gone with Isabel. Dinah took another look at her watch and let out a sigh.

'That's it, I won't sit here any longer, doing nothing,' she said to Lucy-Ann. 'We'll go and see if he's somewhere about, otherwise we'll have to leave him here and go on our own.'

Lucy-Ann was very startled when she heard her friend's words. 'What do you mean, Dinah?' she asked although she had understood the words quite well.

'I meant exactly what I said,' said Dinah resolutely. 'If we can't find him within the next ten minutes we're going without him. I'll drive. If Jack can do it, then so can I – _I_ 'll drive the car.'

Lucy-Ann looked at her friend in bewilderment. 'Do you know how to drive? Have you ever done it before?'

'No, but I've watched Bill and Mother do it. I'm sure I can manage it, too.' Annoyed by Lucy-Ann's reluctance to trust in her abilities Dinah asked impatiently, 'are you coming or not?'

Lucy-Ann was very unhappy at the thought of leaving Jack here. She already hadn't liked letting Philip go with Isabel, but leaving both of the boys behind? On the other hand, she knew that timing was important. If they couldn't get help in time, every bit of work Isabel had put into her case would have been for nothing and Philip would have put himself in danger for nothing, too! Lucy-Ann didn't mean to let that happen.

Walking towards the forest, looking out for Jack, she hoped that they would find her brother, but there was still no sign of him. They didn't dare calling out loudly, and after ten minutes sharp, Dinah announced, 'that's it. We're out of here!' She sighed. 'I say, I really feel sorry for Jack – but if he hadn't gone searching for Kiki despite knowing better than that, then we wouldn't have to leave without him. It's his own fault!'

Lucy-Ann didn't look like she wanted to come but she got into the car. Dinah slipped in behind the steering wheel and stuck the key in and turned it. The engine made a gurgling sound but it wouldn't come to life. The same happened as Dinah tried it a second time. 'Blow!' she said, angrily slamming her hands flat against the steering wheel. Then she forced herself to concentrate.

She tried to remember what Bill had said about the pedals once when he had explained them to the boys. Dinah had been with them and had listened too. She inspected the pedals at her feet. If one tread on the right ones at the right time, it would work. But which _were_ the right ones? Step by step she tried putting what she remembered of Bill's words into practice.

The engine finally came to life and Dinah continued to wrack her brain; what else Bill had explained about driving? It took her a couple more tries and some fiddling with the gear shift – each try ending with the engine dying down making the same gurgling noise – but then _finally_ they moved.

It was a rickety ride but at least the car trundled forward, first over the field and then onto the pebbly, potholed road. They drove up a hill and came to a forking.

'That way,' said Lucy-Ann, pointing. 'The other way leads to Tilda's and Rory's cottage. But we wouldn't want to go there now.'

Dinah put her foot down and turned the car the way her friend had pointed. The road winded along the hills, sloping very steeply at times, and poor Lucy-Ann tried to not cling to the door handle too obviously whenever that happened. She didn't want Dinah to notice how uncomfortable she felt. If only Jack had been there to drive the car – at least he had done it before!

They had been on their way for about half an hour when the road suddenly became very narrow and rocky. Then, just behind a sharp bend, it ended on the edge of another small lake. Dinah tread on the brakes only just in time. The engine gave out that gurgling sound again and the car jolted forward and then it stopped, just a few yards short of rushing into the water.

'Good gracious, Dinah,' exclaimed Lucy-Ann. 'That nearly ended very badly indeed!'

'I know,' said Dinah, whose face had become ashen. 'Oh dear, look at this place! Wherever are we? We must have taken a wrong turn at the last forking. _Blow_!'

Lucy-Ann picked up the map again and studied it carefully. 'Now, let's see – where are we … here's where we started …'' She ran her finger along the way on the map, and tapped a spot. 'There. We must have taken a wrong turn here … see?'

'That's where you said you wanted to check the map,' said Dinah sheepishly. 'But I was impatient and –'

'Never mind,' Lucy-Ann interrupted her quickly. 'We ought to hurry and make up for the time we lost, oughtn't we? – Golly, the road's narrow here. Do you think you can turn the car around?'

'I'll have to,' replied Dinah. A lock of her brown hair had fallen into her face and was sticking to her forehead with sweat. Dinah pushed it back impatiently. As the morning proceeded the air inside the car was getting hotter and hotter with the sun shining down from a cloudless blue sky. She felt sweaty all over and wished she could have taken a bath in the clear water of the lake, but they really didn't have time for that.

Dinah restarted the engine and made to turn the car around. It was a dangerous undertaking – the road was so narrow that she had to steer the car back and forth many times. Once she nearly ran it into the massive rocks that framed the way on either side, another time they almost slipped off over the edge and into the water. Lucy-Ann gave a few exclamations in shock until Dinah had had enough and roared at her.

'Will you stop squealing like a little girl already? Or do _you_ want to do this?' she asked hotly. After that Lucy-Ann kept her hand tightly over her mouth to avoid further squeals – she wasn't keen on having Dinah sneer at her again. And of course she appreciated that her friend had to concentrate.

Finally the were back on track, heading towards the village. They found the forking where they had turned wrong and took the other way, from where they passed a few more hills before the landscape started to flatten out a bit.

They could see the village from afar, as they rose over the top of another big hill. On the way down the car skidded along uncomfortably fast for a short passage, where the pebbly road sloped downwards very steeply, but after that the way turned into a proper street and the ride became more smooth. Nearing the settlement they began meeting other cars. Not very many, mind, and Dinah was very grateful for that. She wasn't too sure about all the rules she would have to consider when meeting with other cars.

It was a only small village and it consisted almost just of the main road but it had a police station alright. Dinah hit the brakes just in front of the little building and the car did one last jolt forward, then it came to hold. Dinah turned the key and pulled it off.

She and Lucy-Ann got out of the car and they both checked their watches. Dinah scowled – it was nearing noon now! Jack's unintended disappearance had cost them a lot of precious time.

She still wondered if they would manage to explain the situation to the policemen quickly enough. Where to start? And would the men believe their tale?

'What do you think? Shall we go in now?' said Dinah to Lucy-Ann, who shrugged in return. 'Or shall we try and think it through first?'

'It'll take a while to tell them the story,' Lucy-Ann pointed out. 'We had better go in now, we shan't risk losing more time than we have already.'

'What if they don't believe the story at all?' Dinah wondered.

'Don't be silly! We'll just have to tell them our names – we'll be reported missing,' replied Lucy-Ann. Dinah hadn't thought of it, but Lucy-Ann was right, of course!

A policeman greeted them inside, looking astonished. Lucy-Ann walked straight towards him and asked, 'excuse me, Sir, are you the one in charge here?' She wasn't usually that brisk, but a sudden wave of emotions had just nearly overwhelmed her; including anger at Jack for disappearing, but also concern and fear – all at the same time!

The policeman eyed her sceptically. 'Yes, I am. Can I help you, miss?'

Lucy-Ann gave the young man a friendly smile. She didn't feel like smiling at all, but the fellow would never have known it wasn't genuine, for she looked as sweet as anything. 'Yes, I do hope so, Sir,' she said. 'I'm Lucy-Ann Trent, and that's my friend, Dinah Mannering. We have a crime to report, something that's happening this very moment somewhere very near.'

The young man looked astounded. 'A crime? Here?' He shook his head. 'We're a very peaceful community. There's not much crime happening here – apart from an illegal bonfire out in the National Park every now and again, of course.'

'Sir,' said Lucy-Ann urgently. 'Look into your missing persons files or make a few phone calls. Dinah and I must have been reported missing two days ago – we were taken hostage by a gang of bank robbers and they are collecting all their thefts as we speak, getting ready to take off to Austria.'

'If you don't believe us, call Bill Cunningham. He's with the police force as well, although he might not be on duty at the moment – he has been wounded by these men,' added Dinah, who was feeling impatient with the young officer. 'But there must be someone on duty in his place.'

The young police officer looked irritated, but he went to a nearby desk anyway, rummaged through a stack of files and finally picked up a note. He studied it carefully with a frown on his face. Lucy-Ann watched him anxiously – would he listen to them now?

And indeed, as soon as he was done reading the report through to the end, he hurried to make a few phone calls.

'The station isn't very big, it's basically run just by me alone,' he explained. 'So we need reinforcements from the next bigger town. I don't want you to have to tell your story again and again, so I shall let you wait until the reinforcements are here. – Would you like to have a biscuit until then?'

Eagerly, the girls nodded, wishing they could have more to eat than that. But the biscuits and the cup of tea they were served with it were better than nothing!

The reinforcements didn't take very long to arrive. Soon the place was swarming with men. A big fellow who had introduced himself as Michael Turtle took over command.

'I'm a colleague of your friend Bill,' he told the two girls in a deep, friendly voice. 'You may call me Mike. – Golly, I'm glad you managed to escape. I've been after these villains since I heard the report of the shooting where Bill was injured two days ago! Can you show me the exact place where were can find them?'

Dinah pulled out Isabel's map from her pocket and unfolded it, then she pointed out the spot Isabel had marked. 'Here it is,' she said. 'If you don't mind me asking; are you going to be the one in charge of the operation?'

'Yes,' said Mike and nodded, making both girls feel very relieved. It was clear that he was competent and experienced with operations that included dealing with dangerous men such as Klaus and the rest. The other policemen would assist of course, but as there wasn't much crime in the area, those men might not have been able to carry out the operation on their own.

'How come you were here so fast if you're Bill's colleague?' asked Dinah. 'Bill's headquarters are in London, aren't they?'

Mike grinned. 'We got in lots of phone calls from people who saw the helicopter that you came here with,' he explained. 'We had it out on all radio stations that we were looking for it and many people reported that they saw it fly north that day. The last sighting was reported very near this place. So I came up to continue working from here.'

'Gracious!' exclaimed Lucy-Ann. 'Fancy that you were on our trail already!'

Mike smiled warmly at her. 'I wouldn't have found you for a while if you two hadn't managed to escape.' He looked a little worried. 'You are alright, aren't you?'

The girls both nodded. 'Just very hungry,' said Lucy-Ann. 'We only had a few biscuits all day.'

To their great pleasure Mike called the local officer to him and ordered him to organise a meal for the two girls. While everyone else moved out to the lake, the young man, who was meant to stay and be in in charge of the station, sat with the girls as they ate. After they had finished he called them to his desk where the phone was. He picked up the receiver and dialed a number. Soon there was a familiar voice at the other end.

'Aunt Allie!' exclaimed Lucy-Ann happily.

It was a short call, but Lucy-Ann assured Mrs Cunningham that they were all alright and she needn't worry. It was a bit of a lie, really, for no one knew if the boys really were alright too, but the girls thought that there was no need to bother Aunt Allie any further.

When they inquired about Bill, Mrs Cunningham told them that he was going to be fine. 'The doctor says he'll be in pain for a while, but he will make a full recovery.' Both girls were relieved to hear that. Now, if only the boys were here already – so they could share the good news with them!

X

 **A/N:** This morning I came across the following quote on Facebook:

"The German opposite of ' _umfahren_ ' (running something over) is ' _umfahren_ ' (driving around something) – good luck mastering this language!"

It made me laugh my head off, but the thing is – it's true! Better not tell Dinah while _she's_ driving ... :)


	11. A Close Call

**A/N:** I'm a little under the weather and confined to bed/sofa for a few days, so lucky you are getting two chapters in one day!

X

Chapter 11: A Close Call

With Kiki perched on his shoulder Jack bolted through the woods, determined to get as much space between himself and Klaus as possible. As he ran he could feel the tins fall from the cloth one by one. Every time one fell down, he had to stop and kick it into the undergrowth to be out of sight. Otherwise Klaus would have been on his trail too easily!

The morning turned into noon; it was another bright day and the sun was merciless. It shone through the treetops and made Jack uncomfortably hot. The ropes on his wrists were smarting like anything – even without the weight of the tins – and his breath was coming in short, painful gasps now. Sweat was running into his eyes, but he couldn't wipe it away.

After he had been crisscrossing through the forest for a while, the thick growth began to lighten in front of him and he wondered if he had reached the lake Isabel had spoken of.

He had! There it was, the gray-green surface lying before him, a little way down a steep, thickly, overgrown slope – and he stared down, taking in what seemed like a most peculiar scene. There was an airplane, sitting on the surface of the water and not very far from it three men stood on a stony ledge across on the other side of the lake. The men were gesticulating wildly and they seemed to be shouting too. Their attention was directed at a motor boat which sped across the water in the middle of the lake with no obvious destination.

Jack strained his eyes. Wasn't that Philip, steering the motor boat?

It was – but whatever was he doing? Jack looked at the men again. They were holding their guns in their hands! Then he realised that his friend's crisscrossing across the water was meant to keep them busy, while Isabel searched the plane for hints to their destination in Austria. And of course Philip had to keep the boat in motion or else he would risk being shot at.

Hiding himself in a bush Jack began to think about what he could do to help. First of all, however, he had to get rid of his binds. He tore at the rope until it was painfully cutting into his skin – but it simply wouldn't come off. He did notice that it had loosened a little though.

Kiki was perched on a bough above his head. She was very happy to be back with Jack. If only he would just scratch her poll a bit! She couldn't understand what kept him from showing some affection after the long time they had been separated. 'What a pity, what a pity!' she said, meaning to catch his attention. When he didn't react, she added in a sulky tone, 'open your book on page six,' and gave a little squawk afterwards.

But Jack was still busy as he hadn't quite managed to free his hands yet. He nearly had wriggled one hand out, thinking that it was probably a good thing they were so slippery with sweat. Just another tug and then –

 _There_! He'd freed it! Now he could move both arms to his front and work on the rope properly. After it had come off completely he breathed a relieved sigh and rolled his shoulders a couple of times. They were stiff from carrying the heavy tins behind his back for so long.

After rubbing some life back into his hands and wiping the sweat off on his shorts Jack was just about to pet Kiki, for she really had done well helping him to escape when quite suddenly a frightful sound tore across the lake. It was unmistakably the sound of a revolver being fired! Kiki screeched and nearly flew out of the bush. Jack squinted to see what was happening down on the lake.

Inside his boat Philip had heard the noise as well, and he realised with great fear that one of the men had opened fire on him. There could be no other target. He sped up the boat even more, trying to figure out what had made the men decide to shoot at the boat they needed so much.

Maybe they had come to the conclusion that their time was running out and they had better leave now, taking with them what they already had of the gold. And before that they meant to get rid of him! _Gracious_! Whatever was he to do?

Another few gunshots made him wince and duck. He was quite sure he had felt a bullet swish past his ear. Then he noticed that his feet were getting wet. Another bullet must have hit the boat – meaning that it would be sinking eventually! And he was still a good bit away from the nearest shore. Well, he might still make it to the other side – after all, it was just one small leak. And even if not, he could swim the last bit of the way.

Unfortunately, several more shots forced Philip to give up on the boat much sooner than he had hoped. It was leaking in more than one place and already it was sinking lower and lower. Then another bullet hit the engine.

'I'd better dive into the water now,' thought Philip and jumped.

From above Jack watched as the boat sank into the darkness of the water. He was surprised at how quickly it had gone down. It must be bullet-ridden!

'Golly, I do hope Philip's not hurt,' he thought, but gladly, it didn't seem that way.

For his superior position Jack could see that Philip was already on his way to the shore, swimming almost directly towards him. He still had a long way ahead of him but Philip was a good swimmer. Jack was sure that his friend would make it safely to the shore. The men had stopped shooting too – maybe because they couldn't see their target well enough anymore.

Jack felt relieved for a moment, but then he remembered Klaus. And the fact that Philip had no idea that the Austrian was still somewhere about on their side of the lake. 'I'll have to warn Tufty,' he thought. 'Otherwise he might run straight into Klaus' arms.'

He crept out of the bush, very cautiously, and whispered to Kiki, 'Come on, old girl, but be quiet. We need to get down to the shore and hopefully manage to warn Philip from Klaus.'

'What a pity, what a pity,' said Kiki and flew to Jack's shoulder. 'God save the queen!' Jack tapped her beak and she was quiet after that.

Across the lake the three men were just now diving into the water, no doubt meaning to get aboard their plane and get away as long as they still could. Poor Isabel. Jack hoped that she would be able to defend herself against the villains.

The way down the slope to meet Philip was more difficult than Jack had thought it would be. He slipped several times on loose pebbles and landed on his backside more than once. One time he even tore his shorts on a sharp stony edge. Soon, he was beginning to feel sore, and his arms and legs were scratched and torn from the thorns of bushes he used to steady himself.

In the water Philip suddenly became aware that there was someone on the shore just in front of him. He couldn't see who it was for the person was hidden by the thick bushes and fern. But the movement of the boughs gave it away that someone was there.

Could it be Klaus? The Austrian seemed to have disappeared, or at least Philip hadn't seen him at all, since he and the others had narrowly escaped him just after dawn.

'Golly, we've been up and about since after dawn,' he thought to himself, trying to recall all that had happened since. He remembered mainly having run this way and that – and now that he thought about it he was really beginning to feel very tired out by all the exertion. But he still had a bit to swim. Every time he stopped moving for a moment he became aware of how unpleasantly cold the water was.

On the rocks in front him the bushes moved again, but much further down – telling him that whoever was about must be almost on the edge of the water!

Gracious, if this _was_ Klaus, Philip would have to stay in the water and keep away from the shore. _Blow_! He was exhausted and he really had no idea for how much longer he could swim.

But then Philip saw something – or rather some _one_ – he really hadn't expected. From beyond a bush down on the very edge a tall, slender figure emerged, slightly hunched over, red hair shining brightly in the midday sun, a white parrot perched on his shoulder. It wasn't Klaus – it was old Freckles! Whatever was _he_ doing here? Oughtn't he be miles and miles away, fetching the police reinforcements? Or had they arrived already?

On the rocks Jack had realised that Philip had seen him and he put a finger across his lips to make sure Philip wasn't going to shout for him.

He couldn't have known that his friend was too out of breath to shout anyway. Philip was swimming as fast as he could now, and when he had almost reached the shore he felt like he was going to faint – unless he was to get a break. He certainly didn't have any breath left to shout!

On the shore, Jack removed his shoes and cautiously stepped into the water, meaning to help pulling his friend out. He kept his head bent low though, hoping to stay hidden by the bushes if Klaus was hovering somewhere above.

When Philip was close enough Jack held out his hand. He was almost thigh deep in the water now and it was difficult to avoid slipping on the mossy, wet rock beneath his feet. The bottom of his shorts were wet, but he didn't mind. He gripped Philip's outstretched hand and cautiously helped his exhausted friend to climb the rocks on the edge of the lake's embankment.

After staggering up the slope a few yards, Philip's legs felt too wobbly to hold him up any longer and he slumped down on the moss. He felt frozen too, from staying in the cold water for so long, and even the heat of the midday sun did nothing to warm him up for a while.

Jack pulled off his dry shirt and gave it to his friend who accepted it gratefully and pulled it over his head. 'I say, I feel like I won't want to go swimming again any time soon,' Jack could hear him say from somewhere inside the shirt. After he re-emerged through the neckhole he ran a hand through his moist hair, making it stand on end.

Jack grinned and nudged him in the side with his foot. 'Well, _you_ were the one who wanted to play hero this morning, weren't you?' he said teasingly, making Philip scowl. 'Anyway, I wish I could say we're out of danger, but we're not. Klaus is still somewhere about and I have no idea where exactly.'

'Well if Klaus is about, so's the police. See?' Philip said, pointing.

Only then Jack noticed the noises. They had been very faint at first but where quickly getting louder and louder. A helicopter was approaching from across the hills and a few motorboats came from where the lake bended several miles away.

Jack beamed. 'Golly! The girls! They must have gone to fetch them on their own.'

'Why would they have to?' asked Philip who still had no idea what had kept Jack from going with the girls.

'Well … never mind _that_ now,' said Jack sheepishly, looking a bit red in the face. 'I'll tell you everything later. For now let's just stay hidden here and watch as they take the men away.' He crouched down next to Philip and reached for his shoes to put them back on.

The two of them watched contently as the motor boats approached the water plane and police men disappeared into it. The helicopter had no place where it could land, it flew over their heads and the boys guessed that it would come down on that field nearby, where Isabel had parked the car.

'Thank goodness, Isabel's safe now too,' said Philip when he saw the police coming out of the plane with the villains in handcuffs one by one.

Jack grinned and gave him a light shove in the side. 'You do like her, don't you?' he teased.

'Well, she's helped us and –' Philip began saying but after realising what Jack had really meant he interrupted himself, shaking his head vigorously. 'Oh no, it's not what _you_ think!'

'Is it not?'

'No, of _course_ not. For one thing she's much too old – older than Tilda said anyway – and she's certainly not my type. Besides –' Philip grinned broadly, '– she's way too keen on bossing people around for my liking anyway. – Look, there she comes out of the plane. I bet she's taking command over the policemen already!'

They both snickered. Indeed, Isabel was bossy!

The police boat with the robbers in it was already speeding away while Isabel was in one of the other boats talking to the officers. Philip could see that she was pointing at the shore, probably telling the police about the missing Klaus – and about Jack and him.

'They'll be looking for us,' said Jack who had seen Isabel gesticulating as well. 'I wish we could just stand up and show ourselves, but then Klaus might see us too. I haven't the faintest idea where he's gone to.'

Philip clutched his arm. 'Well, I do,' he whispered, pointing. 'He's climbing along the rocks, just a little bit further up. See?'

Jack peered through the bushes, seeing Klaus clambering along the rocks above their heads. He was only a few yards away. _Bother_! What were they to do now?


	12. Don't Let Klaus Get Away

**A/N:** Again thanks to everyone who's been sticking with the story! I love your comments. :)

XXX

Chapter 12: Don't Let Klaus Get Away

'Pop goes the weasel,' said Kiki, her head bobbing up and down excitedly.

'Hush, Kiki,' said Jack, tapping her on the beak. 'You mustn't give us away.'

'Is he armed?' whispered Philip, pointing at Klaus.

'Not sure,' replied Jack. 'He was last time I saw him. But he dropped his revolver and I kicked it into a bush because I couldn't pick it up with my hands bound on my back. I made a run for it after that, so I can't say if he's found the weapon or not.'

'Bother,' said Philip. 'I wish we knew.'

'Well, at least he hasn't seen us yet,' Jack pointed out. 'He walked straight past us. Let's follow him, Tufty, see where he goes.'

Philip didn't want to, but they couldn't let Klaus get away! So he nodded and carefully got to his feet. He wished he had his shoes to put on, but he had left them on the rocks with his discarded shirt before swimming to the boat.

The overgrown slope made for an uncomfortable walking underground if one was to walk on it in bare feet – spiky stones and thorny boughs littered the way. Several times Philip almost gave them away after stepping onto something prickly. Every time he had to bite his lip to not yelp or let out a few distasteful words in anger.

As cautiously as they could the two boys climbed along the rocky shore, carefully keeping an eye on Klaus, who was further up above their heads, but making sure that the man didn't see them. But then Klaus suddenly stopped and took a look around. Jack who had been out of cover quickly crouched down, but he caught a glimpse of Klaus' angry eyes staring back at him before he could hide.

'Blow!' he hissed, feeling very cross with himself. 'I think he saw me.'

Philip clutched his arm. 'He has – and now he's bolting, see?'

Jack grinned. 'I suppose that means he's unarmed. Quickly, Tufty, let's go after him! We might catch him.'

'Gracious – guess that means we'll be running again,' mumbled Philip, but Jack was already on his way clambering up the rocks – and Philip certainly wasn't going to let him go on his own. He darted after his friend as fast as he could. They were soon sweating again in the hot summer sun, climbing upwards and upwards until they reached the woods. They couldn't see the Austrian anymore, but the growth was so thick at this point that they could see where the man had passed his way through – he had left a very clear path for them!

They tore after him. It was a painful undertaking, for the way Klaus had chosen was spiked with stinging nettles. Philip tried his best not to to tread on any, but his feet soon hurt from their stings. Jack, who hadn't got a shirt on, wasn't faring much better. He had run right into a very tall nettle and now his tummy was stinging all over.

After a while the growth thinned out a little and the two of them stopped, wondering what direction Klaus had taken from here.

'Which way do you reckon?' said Philip in a low voice. He was hopping from foot to foot, for his feet were still smarting from the nettles and all the spiky boughs and stones he had tread on.

'Don't know,' whispered back Jack, who was still panting. 'Could be anywhere.'

They were about to give up on trying to find Klaus, when suddenly a big figure leapt from a nearby bush and crashed into Jack, who in turn crashed into Philip, who gave a short yell and fell. Jack toppled on top of him and Klaus bolted away once more.

'Get off me, you're heavy,' complained Philip, trying to push his friend off.

Jack scrambled to his feet awkwardly. 'Are you alright?'

'No, I think I sprained my ankle,' grumbled Philip, trying to get up as well. He managed, but he could only limp. Every time he put weight on his left foot, pain shot through his ankle. It was clear that he was in no shape to keep running.

'Send for the doctor,' announced Kiki, fluttering above their heads. Once again she had found the right thing to say at the right moment. But neither of the boys felt very much like laughing at her.

'I'll go on alone,' said Jack.

He pushed off Kiki who had just settled down on his shoulder. She screeched angrily, and flew to Philip's shoulder, where she perched down and pitied herself. 'Poor Polly. Poor, dear old Polly. Send for the doctor.'

Jack shook his head at her. Then he said to Philip, 'you wait here, while I go after him.'

'What else would I do?' mumbled poor Philip grumpily, watching his friend dart away. He tried to walk another step, but his ankle hurt too badly. It was beginning to swell up too. So Philip sat down on the ground and waited. He had no strength left to try and hobble after Jack. Sooner or later one of the police officers would find him, he figured, and they'll help him get to their cars or the helicopter.

Meanwhile Jack noticed with satisfaction that he was gaining ground on Klaus – he was a good deal faster than the older, heavier man. It helped too that he could squeeze past some rather narrow gaps in the growth more easily than the villain ahead of him.

But what would he do if he caught up? He didn't really know. Klaus wasn't armed, but would Jack be able to wrestle him down? And keep him down until the police came to his aid? Or would he just have to try to tire the older man out and hope that help would come before Jack was too tired out himself to keep up the chase?

However, when he was close enough to throw himself at the man he didn't think about it any longer. He leapt forward and crashed into Klaus the way the villain had crashed into the boys before and they both fell full-length onto the forest ground.

Now Klaus had the advantage on his side; he was strong and heavy-set, and he had soon buried Jack underneath him. After dealing out a few blows at his opponent Klaus managed to get up again and would have fled if not Jack had managed to catch a hold of his leg and pull him off his feet again.

'Du verfluchter –' He didn't get further. Suddenly the place was swarming with policemen all around them.

'Give it up now!' shouted one of them. 'It's over!'

But Klaus fought on – he was furious! He launched himself at Jack once more, blind with rage, and landed a few fists in his stomach and a nasty punch on his nose. He didn't stop until the policemen came at him. It needed two of them to pull him away from poor Jack, who was on his back underneath Klaus, feeling quite dazed after the blow into his face.

He needed a moment until he was able to sit up. He was hurting all over and his nose was bleeding, blood running down over his mouth and dropping from his lips, staining the fabric of his shorts.

He swayed a little, holding his bleeding nose, and then, with the assistance of a young police officer, Jack finally stood. He blinked until his vision cleared, then took a look around. Klaus was handcuffed by the policemen; he was still snarling unpleasantries in his own language but he wasn't struggling anymore. A few yards away Jack could see Philip limping towards him. He too was being assisted by an officer. Kiki was still perched on his shoulder, talking quietly to herself.

'Polly, put the kettle on. Don't sniff. How many times do I have to tell you …' On and on she went, and Jack couldn't help having to grin at her.

Then a man came forward, tall and burly – reminding Jack of Bill. He introduced himself as Bill's colleague and friend Michael Turtle and told Jack that he was the one in charge. He guided him and Philip towards the place where the police had parked their vehicles and helped them both climb into the back of one of the cars. Klaus was roughly being shoved into another one.

After everyone had boarded their cars the officers drove off, heading towards the village. Feeling very tired suddenly, Jack leaned his head against the window and closed his eyes to relax as the car rocked gently across the hills. When they arrived at the village some minutes later, both Philip and Jack were fast asleep.

Dinah and Lucy-Ann were sitting on the steps to the police station's entrance, waiting impatiently for the officers to return. When they saw the cars from afar they leapt to their feet and waved excitedly until the vehicles came to hold right in front of the station.

Mike got out of the car, grinning at them. 'Everything went well,' he assured them at once. 'We came in just at the right moment and managed to catch all the bad guys. You two got us just in time.'

'Where are the boys?' asked Lucy-Ann excitedly. She was anxious, having worried about her brother and Philip all the time.

Mike laughed heartily. 'They fell asleep on the way here, poor lads. They've had quite a trying morning! – Ah, here they come!'

And there they did come, climbing out of the car looking so battered that the girls had to cover their mouths with their hands to keep themselves from gasping. There was something comical about it too, Dinah thought, looking at the two: Jack, who wasn't wearing a shirt, a stain of dried blood on his torn shorts and a trail under his nose, too, his torso covered in scratches and bruises and showing the begins of a nasty sunburn – and then Philip who wasn't wearing shoes; he had Jack's shirt on, his hair was standing on end and he was favoring his left foot. His ankle looked swollen up to double size.

'Gracious,' said Lucy-Ann. 'You two look awful.'

'Awful indeed,' said Isabel's voice.

They hadn't noticed the arrival of another car, neither had they seen Isabel get out of it. She stood grinning at the boys, then she went over and patted them each on the back. 'But you've done a very good job at helping me to catch the baddies. You _all_ have! I managed to gather all the information I needed. I got the coordinates for their flight in Austria and Interpol is already in contact with the Austrian forces. Thanks you lot, the case wasn't the success I wanted it to be, but we all did well enough.' Her grin became even wider as she asked, 'any of you interested in joining the police forces?'

Jack let out a groan. All he could think of being interested in right now was a shower and the biggest meal imaginable. And then he wanted to go home. After all, he still had an argument with Aunt Allie to face.

'Well?' asked Isabel, looking at him, but Jack merely groaned again and shook his head.

Isabel chuckled. 'None of you? Dinah? Philip?'

'No thanks,' said Philip and limped forward towards the door of the police station. 'I've already made other plans.' Everybody laughed.

Mike made sure that the boys were supplied with a change of clothes, borrowing them some uniform trousers and shirts from the police station, and a pair of shoes for Philip. It turned out though that he couldn't put on the left shoe for his swollen ankle was in the way.

Afterwards Mike drove Jack, Philip, Dinah and Lucy-Ann to the next bigger town and took them to a hospital where the boys could be looked at by a doctor. Jack was out of the examination room after five minutes. He had taken a few nasty punches from Klaus, but they had merely left him with scrapes and bruises. Philip was a little worse off with his twisted ankle. But after a salve was applied and a bandage was wrapped around his foot he could limp out of the examination room as well.

'Now for some food,' said Mike and invited them to follow him to the hospital's cafeteria. They couldn't walk very fast for they had to stop and wait quite a few times for Philip who hobbled rather unsteadily after them. He didn't at all enjoy his inability to move properly – he feared that if the others reached the cafeteria before him it would be marauded before he even got a chance to grab a bite!

They were almost there when a familiar figure rounded the corner – Isabel!

'May I come with you?' she asked, and everyone agreed, of course.

'Open your book on page six,' Kiki told her at once, raising her crest and making Isabel laugh heartily.

'She seems awfully nice suddenly,' thought Lucy-Ann.

Isabel joined them as they tucked into some enormous ham-and-cheese sandwiches. The girls, who already had a meal, felt full after one but the boys, Mike and Isabel devoured three sandwiches each. After that Isabel had something to say.

'I came to tell you that Tilda and Rory would like to invite you to stay at their cottage for a night,' she told them. 'You must all be too tired to travel back home today. Tomorrow Rory will take you to the station and you can catch a train from there.'

'And I'll be on the train with you,' added Mike. 'I'll wrap the case up this afternoon, find myself a room at the local inn, and meet you at the station tomorrow. I promised Bill to get you all home safely.'

'Can you take us to Tilda and Rory's cottage, Isabel?' asked Lucy-Ann.

Isabel nodded. 'Yes, but I shall leave just after I've dropped you off. I'll have to get back home as well'

'What a pity, what a pity,' squawked Kiki, and everyone laughed.

'Yes, it _is_ a pity,' agreed Isabel. She pulled a little white card from her pocket. 'Here, it's got my telephone number at the office on it. Call me if you change your mind about joining the force. Although …' she considered for a moment, looking at Jack, ' _you_ would have to learn how to follow orders before we'd let you join.'

Her words were rather amusing to everyone but Jack himself. They uncomfortably reminded him of the argument he still had to face as soon as they arrived home. It occupied his mind for the rest of the day – how was he going to make Aunt Allie understand?


	13. Back At Home

**A/N:** Here's the last chapter. It's actually mostly family stuff as the adventure is already over ... Do share your thoughts with me on this chapter, though!

I would like to thank my beta-reader _**awilliamsbbc.98**_ for proofreading this story for me. It was a great job on your part!

I also want to thank my reviewers! I enjoyed your lovely and encouraging comments!

You'll find a few further notes at the end of this chapter... please enjoy the story first...

XXX

Chapter 13: Back At Home

It turned into an enjoyable afternoon for Jack, Philip, Dinah and Lucy-Ann. Tilda was beside herself with joy to be their host for a night. She did even have a tiny guest room.

'For hikers who get surprised by a sudden change of weather and need shelter,' she explained. 'There's only one bed, which is big enough for two people, but we can lay out an old mattress for the boys. You wouldn't mind that, would you?'

The boys didn't mind sleeping on a mattress, only Philip had doubts about getting up on his own in the morning with his foot still hurting so badly. He couldn't join the others either, as they walked down the hill to jump into the lake at its bottom for a refreshing bath. Instead he sat on Tilda's veranda, resting and letting her spoil him a bit. She even had a little surprise for him.

'Why – Hopper! You're still here?'

The tiny rabbit came hobbling towards him from Tilda's kitchen and Philip bent down to pick him up.

Tilda laughed heartily. 'He has stayed with us, waiting for you to return,' she said. 'Here – I've got some carrots you can feed him!'

So with Hopper nibbling carrots on his lap, his hurt foot propped up comfortably on a chair, fresh lemonade and fruit tarts in reach, Philip waited happily for the others to return.

They all had a jolly evening, including a huge meal for supper, and in the morning Rory drove them all to the station. There they met with Mike and off they went southwards. The ride took several hours, and around noon they unpacked the huge packed lunch Tilda had given them. She had even thought of Mike!

'Aunt Allie will be happy to have us all back in one piece,' said Lucy-Ann happily, looking at the passing landscape outside the train window. 'And I can't wait to see her and tell her all about our latest adventure!'

'She'll have a heart attack, hearing what you've been up to,' said Mike, who obviously had no idea about all the hair-raising adventures they had already had in the past. So they told him – it was a wonderful pastime and sooner than they had expected the train drew into the station where Mrs Cunningham was waiting with Bill. He had his arm in a sling but otherwise he was looking very much alright again.

Mrs Cunningham gave a short, joyful exclamation at seeing them and hurried up, pulling both of the girls into a hug as soon as she had reached them. Bill came up too and clapped the boys and Mike each on the back with his good arm. Kiki screeched excitedly, and they all went into a small cake shop around the corner for a treat. Then Mike had to take another train to London.

After they had said goodbye, Bill walked home with the two girls and Jack while Mrs Cunningham took Philip, who was still immobile with his hurt foot, home in the car. On the way Bill asked them about their adventure. But before any of the girls could start telling the story, Jack said that they had better wait until they were at home, so they wouldn't have to tell it all twice.

'Aunt Allie probably won't be very thrilled to hear that I left you to drive out for help on your own,' he remarked.

When they arrived they found Philip and his mother in the sitting room with biscuits and some tea. They all sat and then they took turns in telling the story. And indeed, Aunt Allie was _very_ angry after hearing all that had happened – and especially at Jack, just like he had expected her to be. She had been cross with him before the adventure, but now she was fuming!

'You're irresponsible,' she reproached, pointing a finger at him. 'Leaving the girls alone like that – when you were the only one who _could_ drive at all. I'm _very_ disappointed of you, Jack! First you just take off to go on that trip to the end of the world – without telling anyone beforehand, mind – and then you leave the two girls to themselves when they're in danger. How _could_ you?'

Poor Jack was sure he had never felt quite so small in all his life. 'It wasn't on purpose,' he defended himself, though half-heartedly. He could see from Aunt Allie's expression that she didn't care whether it had been on purpose or not.

'Mother, Jack's only been –' began Philip, but his mother turned on him with blazing eyes.

' _You_ shut up, too!' she snapped at him, making him wince. 'You've been _very_ irresponsible yourself!' Then she turned towards Jack again. 'I have a good mind to throw you out of my house.'

Jack certainly had expected a dressing-down but he hadn't expected _that_. 'But, Aunt Allie, wherever shall I stay?'

Mrs Cunningham gave him a cool look. 'At your uncle's for all I care. Just get out of my eyes. That reminds me, have you spoken to your uncle yet?'

'No, not yet,' said poor Jack in a small voice.

Both girls were utterly shocked at Mrs Cunningham's unlikely outburst, and Lucy-Ann was on the verge of tears. Philip was staring at his mother with a look of disbelief.

It was only after Lucy-Ann had started to cry in earnest that Bill got involved into the debate. 'Allie, don't you think we ought to find another way to deal with this? We can't just throw him out.' His face suddenly hardened. Jack had never seen him look like that at his wife. 'I won't let you make a decision like this all by yourself.'

Taken aback at the lack of backup from her husband, Mrs Cunningham gave no reply. Then her eyes fell on Lucy-Ann, and at seeing her tears she gave a little sigh. She turned at Jack once more and said, 'for the sake of your sister, Jack, I'm going to relent. You shall stay until we find a solution, whichever it may be.' Then she turned and swept out of the room, needing to cool off.

After fetching a light coat and her summer hat she left the house, suddenly feeling ashamed of her own outburst. But she couldn't help it!

Most of her anger had come from Jack's unseemly departure to New Zealand of course. She still hadn't got over it. How could he make her worry like that? Hadn't she been like a mother to him? Hadn't _he_ promised her to put more effort into his school work last summer?

She had spent hours and hours on the phone, talking to Mr Trent. _She_ had talked the sour old man into keeping Jack at the good, but expensive school. She had told him that the boy would finish his last year successfully, always thinking of the promise he had made. And yet he had disappointed her.

Back in the sitting room there was a long silence after Mrs Cunningham had left.

'Are you going to go back to school and give it another try?' asked Philip finally. 'You'll be just one year older than the others.'

'No – I don't suppose the school will have me,' said Jack with a shrug. 'But even _if_ , I won't be able to pay the school fees on my own. The job in New Zealand paid off, of course, and I've also got some money from the photographs I sold to the magazine before. But I'm afraid my uncle will want back some of the money he invested in my education. Probably every penny he paid since I turned eighteen."

'Bother,' said Philip, paling a little as he tried to calculate how much money they were talking about. 'Do you have as much?'

'No,' said Jack, who didn't need to calculate it to know he didn't have as much.

'What a pity, what a pity,' said Kiki, pecking Jack's ear affectionately. She seemed to know something bad was going on.

'I can lend you some,' suggested Bill.

'Thanks awfully, Bill,' said Jack. After that there was nothing else to say.

Over the next couple of days Jack had an awful time. He had a brief conversation on the phone with his sour old uncle, and it turned out the way he had expected. The old man, never having been very fond of either his nephew or his niece, didn't appreciate having to pay for a school education Jack wasn't attending. Still being Jack's and Lucy-Ann's legal guardian, he had been obliged to pay their school fees – at least until they came of age. And since Jack had turned eighteen in the middle of his last school year, his uncle wanted back the money he had invested in his education since then.

And of course, that was more than Jack had. So what was he to do now? He thought briefly of Isabel and her suggestion to join the police force. After all, he did need to make a living. But would they take him if he hadn't finished his school education? Maybe he could call Isabel up and talk to her about it. It wasn't what he wanted to do with his life, but he knew he needed to earn money.

Aunt Allie brought up the topic of him going back to school a couple of times. Most of the time, however, she wasn't speaking much to him at all. She never gave him a chance to explain his point of view to her.

The day he finally made up his mind to call Isabel, something unexpected happened. It occurred while they were sitting at breakfast. Bill was engaged in the newspaper; he had his arm out of the sling and although it was still stiff, he could hold the paper on his own again. Lucy-Ann and Dinah were talking about a picnic they were planning to go on. Kiki was was pecking strawberries from the marmalade jug when she thought no one was looking.

Jack was absent-mindedly picking at the leftovers of his scrambled eggs. The uncertainty about his future and the still tense atmosphere between him and Aunt Allie bothered him, leaving him with somewhat less of an appetite than he usually had.

Suddenly the door was flung open and in came Philip who was very mobile again by now. His ankle had healed a few days ago – much to everyone's relief, for he had become nearly unbearable, confined to sitting still for days on end. He was holding a stack of letters in his hand, waving them excitedly.

'There's a letter for you, Jack!' Philip took the top letter from the stack and handed it to Jack, discarding the remaining mail on the kitchen counter without further notice. 'It's from Peter Painshaw, the journalist!'

That was a surprise! Jack took the letter and ripped it open. Everyone's attention was on him now. Kiki snatched another strawberry from the jug and then, her beak treacherously red, she fluttered to Jack's shoulder.

'Humpy Dumpy sat on a wall!' she sang, dropping a small piece of strawberry onto Jack white shirt. 'Ding dong bell – Polly is in the well.'

But Jack took no notice of her or the awful stain she had caused on his clothing. He read through the letter in excitement, not noticing that the others were watching him.

'What does it say?' asked Lucy-Ann, who could no longer stand the silence. When her brother didn't reply she reached over and pulled his sleeve. 'Come on, read it out loud.'

And so he did:

' _Dear Jack,_

 _I hope you have returned safely home to your family._

 _Last week I spoke to the publishers. The article we wrote was a huge success, and we're getting an extra page for it in the next month's edition of NATURE'S GREATEST. Of course, that means we're getting a pay rise as well. Please find the check enclosed with this letter accordingly._

 _Since the project has come to be a success the editors would like to give us another assignment, this time in Canada, and I do hope you're willing to accept the offer. A meeting will be held at the publishing company on July 30th to sort out the details. I would be very pleased if you could attend that as well._

 _Please get back to me at your earliest convenience. You'll find my phone number and address at the office at the bottom of this letter._

 _Yours sincerely,_

 _Peter Painshaw'_

'Gracious!' exclaimed Dinah, who was impressed. 'Canada – that would be wizard, wouldn't it? Will you go, Jack?'

He couldn't quite believe his luck. 'I – I suppose so …'

'Well, it seems like going back to school is really out of question then,' said Mrs Cunningham from the door. No one had heard her come in.

After refolding the actual letter and putting it back in the envelope, Jack glanced at the enclosed check. It was enough to pay off his debt and save a little money too! He told everyone how much it was and then he turned pleading eyes on Aunt Allie. 'I know I don't really have to ask you, as I'm of age and all,' he said slowly. 'But I would hugely appreciate it, if you approved of me accepting this offer. See, if every job would pay off as nicely as this … I might easily make a living of it.'

Mrs Cunningham sighed but her expression softened a little.

On went Jack, of course, seeing that her resistance was crumbling, 'I know you hoped I would go to university, like Philip. But this –' he waved the envelope with the letter in it, ' _this_ is what I've always wanted to do. Study birds, photograph them and write about their habits for books and nature magazines!'

'It's really going to pay the bills,' said Bill, putting the newspaper aside to pick up the check Jack had received.

'Silly Billy! Bill – pay the bill, Silly-Billy!' sang Kiki, but once more no one took notice of her.

'And there's bound to be more jobs for Jack!' Lucy-Ann said excitedly. 'Especially if he'll do as well as he did on his first job. Which he will, of course. He's got a talent at photographing.'

'I must admit, you do have a point,' replied Mrs Cunningham with another sigh. 'I'm not quite convinced yet, but you certainly have a point.'

'He'll be famous,' cried Dinah, beaming at the thought. 'And he will get to travel the world! Just imagine – New Zealand, Canada – what's to be next?'

'Blow university,' said Philip sulkily. 'I'd rather go to Canada too!'

His mother's eyes went wide at that. 'Don't you even _think_ about it!'

'What a pity, what a pity!' shouted Kiki, who was fed up with being ignored, making everyone laugh. 'Pop goes the weasel!'

XXX

 **A/N:** I'm sorry if you have the feeling that Jack and Allie haven't really made it up yet, but that's the way it is... Allie will be disappointed about Jack's unreasonable decision for a while yet, and the two of them will have a longer discussion about all this much later; actually years after this. If you're interested in it you can read about it in my fic **_Let Your Heart Be Light_** (which is a Christmas fic, mind)

I hope I did alright with the characterisation of everyone! Please share your thoughts with me on that if you like.

I still have a few ideas for future fics for this fandom ... but not all of them might be turned into a full story and be posted. Do let me know if you're interested in reading more **_Adventure Series_** fanfiction! (Any requests, topic-wise?)

Hope you all enjoyed this little adventure! I'm not Enid Blyton herself, but I did my best to get close! Cheers everyone:)


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